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Addressing tent cities: an example of police/non-profit collaboration

Brittany Solensten (Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA)
Dale Willits (Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA)

Policing: An International Journal

ISSN: 1363-951X

Article publication date: 2 October 2019

Issue publication date: 2 October 2019

557

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine a collaborative relationship between non-profit organizations and a Midwest police department to address issues of poverty and homelessness.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative interviews were conducted with five non-profit organization workers along with three police officers about social problems in the city between September and December of 2017.

Findings

The collaboration between non-profit organizations and law enforcement was largely helpful and successful in integrating residents of tent city into existing housing programs within the city, limiting future law enforcement calls addressing latent homelessness issues.

Research limitations/implications

This qualitative study was exploratory in nature and data were drawn from a single city. Although key stakeholders were interviewed, results are based on a small sample of police and non-profit social service workers. Also, individuals who lived in the tent city were not interviewed.

Practical implications

This study demonstrates how an approach in addressing tent cities through non-profit organizations and law enforcement collaboration are arguably effective in humanely moving residents of tent cities into housing for a long-term solution to homelessness.

Originality/value

There is limited research about tent cities especially the long-term effectiveness of dismantling them with various methods. This paper demonstrates one city’s approach to combat homelessness by dismantling a tent city, with a follow-up a few years later showing the effectiveness of a more humane approach, which can set an example for future cities also combating homelessness.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This paper forms part of a special section on “Social Police Work and Police Social Work: 100 years after August Vollmer's speech”

Citation

Solensten, B. and Willits, D. (2019), "Addressing tent cities: an example of police/non-profit collaboration", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 42 No. 5, pp. 931-943. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-04-2019-0045

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

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