The recent attempt by the Mayor of Port-of-Spain to get vagrants off the streets of the city evoked widespread criticisms.
Some argued that vagrants had 'rights' and this was interfering with their 'freedoms.' Others advanced explanations why the vagrants were in their current position. These explanations ranged from the increase in poverty, the increase in the level of inflation within the country, anomie, helpless and the lack of the State to provide adequate support. Yet, others questioned the decision taken to carry the vagrants to the courts. In the controversy, however, what seemed to be occurring was that there appeared to be a 'grey' area between what some termed 'homeless' persons and yet others termed 'vagrancy.'
In legal terminology, vagrancy refers to the offence of persons who are without visible means of support or domicile while able to work. In the case of the more developed countries, laws and municipal ordinances punishing vagrancy often cover loitering, associating with reputed criminals, prostitution, and drunkenness. In these countries, punishment for vagrancy is usually a fine or several months in jail. In a number of cases, however, instead of arresting vagrants, local officials often attempt to induce them to move on.
There is no doubt that the term 'vagrancy' is wide ranging. In the literature on vagrancy, vagrants are often referred to as transient persons who move from place to place and do not remain in any one place for a significant period of time.
But what may be considered as vagrancy in one country may vary in another. For instance, in the case of India, the Nandewalas comprise a group of people who often travel from state to state in a sporadic manner. In a similar fashion, the gypsies of both Germany as well as India are often transient persons, mainly families. In the case of Africa, Egypt and other parts of the world, many peoples are often considered 'nomads.' In the broadest sense, too, circus-performers as well as some holy men could also be classified as nomads. When one looks at global migration, as well, it is evident that a number of people could be classified under the category as 'transient' or seasonal workers. In other words, homelessness and vagrancy may carry different meanings.
Homelessness has a different connotation. Homelessness, like poverty is often explained in an individualistic fashion. In many countries, homeless people are often portrayed according to a certain prototype that stresses laziness, immorality, wanderlust, heavy drinking and other character defects. Often the homeless are blamed for their inability to provide basic shelter for themselves in a society in which equality of opportunity is stressed. However, it has been suggested there is a dramatic rise in the number of homeless people.
Factors such as the lack of adequate housing, widespread retrenchment and the break-up of the extended family are believed to be contributing to the increase in homeless people. Other reasons offered for the increase in homelessness include the following:
n Personal choice–"Most homeless people are homeless because they choose that lifestyle."
n Aversion to work–"Most homeless don't want to work."
n Alcoholism–"The major cause of homelessness is alcoholism."
n Bad luck–"The homeless are victims of bad luck."
n Structural forces–"Homelessness is due to forces people can't control, such as housing shortages or changes in the economy."
From a global perspective, however, disasters such as hurricanes, floods, mud-slides, widespread fires, wars and tsunamis have led to widespread homelessness in many countries of the world.
While no doubt, as some may argue, there appears to be a thin line between homeless people and vagrants, what seems to stand out is that in the case of the homeless, this may be a temporary arrangement. There is no doubt, however, that when one portrays a vagrant, the portrait that is conjured up includes a person who lives on and off the street, who delves into garbage bins to salvage food and other material, who looks filthy, who behaves in an undesirable manner, and who is often promiscuous and sometimes even violent.
Indeed, vagrants are often portrayed as representing the 'dregs' of the society. According to the Mayor of Port-of-Spain, they 'crap' any where they wish and the implications of that behaviour may very well lead to widespread cholera within the confines of the city.
He also argued that it was not only about the rights of the 'vagrant' but the public had 'rights' as well. This, he noted, included the young lady who was blinded in one eye during a vagrant attack. The challenge though, is, what to do about vagrancy? In the case of the United States of America, vagrancy laws have come under constitutional attack, since being poor is not a crime under the Constitution. The statutory language was often held to be vague and overbroad, in violation of the due process requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution.
A vagrancy law might be declared too vague if the definition of a vagrant is not detailed enough. Police had too much discretion to arrest people based upon appearance and suspicious characteristics. The fear was that the laws would be misused to make arbitrary arrests to harass unpopular groups or silence opposing political views. US vagrancy laws generally punish the status of being poor and unemployed and not some overt act. In 1983, the US Supreme Court struck down as too vague a loitering statute which punished people for failure to show credible identification upon police request. This case curbed police use of vagrancy and loitering statutes to harass the poor.
However, other laws have been enacted, such as camping or sidewalk ordinances, which are often aimed at controlling homeless people. The following are examples of local camping and sidewalk ordinances:
Unlawful Camping–"It shall be unlawful for any person to camp, occupy camp facilities or use camp paraphernalia in the following areas, except as otherwise provided:
�2 Any street;
�2 Any public parking lot or public area, improved or unimproved.
"Those sidewalk activities proscribed within the specified zone include riding a bicycle, scooter, roller skates, or skateboard; unloading or loading a vehicle where safety does not necessitate obstructing the sidewalk; lying on the sidewalk or placing any object on the sidewalk, sitting on the public sidewalk or on any object on the sidewalk for more than one hour in any two-hour time period; placing or maintaining a bench without a license; leaving any belongings unattended; allowing dogs, guard cats, or pigs to go without a leash; allowing snakes outside of a cage; and not muzzling any animal with a "vicious propensity." (Taken from an Internet article)It is evident that there is no clear demarcation between what may be considered to us some minor misdemeanors and treating with vagrancy in the case of the United States.
In Trinidad and Tobago, too, there is, as the public was informed, no concrete policy in place to deal with the phenomenon of vagrancy. As the Mayor discovered, what was necessary was to take the vagrants to court and what emerged is that many of them were granted bail (this was indeed surprising) while others were set free. With Christmas nearly upon us, there is no doubt that some human rights group will make a 'plea' for the vagrants, fuelled no doubt by films such as the 'Little Match Girl.' But more and more, as the State, the Mayor and businessmen are fast recognising that many people no longer wish to come into the city of Port-of-Spain since some suggest 'it is no longer safe.'Indeed, shoppers are now thronging the malls, Chaguanas, as well as Arima and Tunapuna where there is less likelihood of hop-skotching around vagrants and their 'poo' as well as avoiding other criminal elements.
Given the movement away from the capital city, no doubt, perhaps the time has come to introduce a policy to deal with the issue of vagrancy.