On Monday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio reaffirmed his feeling that violent criminals should be denied access to NYCHA housing. This follows a dramatic reduction in the eviction of such convicts from this housing, which is designed to help low-income residents find safe shelter. However, is it possible that denying convicted criminals affordable housing could have harmful effects?
Numerous Failures by the City
The New York City Housing Authority claims that they perform a criminal background check on all applicants, and deny housing to those who do not pass. However, several recent high profile stories have revealed that these checks may be insufficient, and that the city is very slow to evict those who have been accused of violent crimes.
Could There Be Unintended Consequences?
A number of studies and reports have found that, nationwide, nearly 75% of inmates are arrested within just five years of their release. However, data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics has suggested that those accused of violent crimes are the least likely group to commit the same crime or end up in jail again. This is partially because the bulk of violent crimes are not the work of evil people or serial killers, but instead are crimes of passion.
This raises a number of questions – could denying violent criminals affordable housing lead to them committing other crimes, such as robbery or selling drugs? Also, why single out violent criminals when robbers and burglars are the most likely criminals to strike again? While there are no easy answers to these questions, it is possible that lawmakers are focused on the political benefits of “taking on violent crime,” rather than actually solving problems.
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