Homelessness: A Criminogenic Situation?

Criminologists have been reluctant to pursue the idea that situational factors encourage criminal activity. Following Gibbons's work on criminogenic situations', we investigate the criminogenic' nature of homelessness. Using data on a sample of homeless youth (N = 390) in Toronto, Canada, we find that a significantly greater proportion of these young people commits offences after, rather than before, leaving home. Moreover, this pattern does not appear to be an effect of age, gender, or the number of previous homeless experiences; instead, it appears to be a result of the current homeless situation.