Kriminalität, Kriminalisierung und Wohnungslosigkeit : eine qualitative Untersuchung

The study examines the relationship between criminality, criminalization and homelessness. The starting point is the finding that homeless people belong to that part of society where minor offences are frequently punished by harsh penal consequences. The leading question of the study is, how does delinquency and criminalization emerge in the specific situation of homelessness – and how do homeless people cope with it?

Within the study 30 interviews were conducted with homeless men in Munich. The interviews were analysed following the Grounded Theory methodology. Theoretically the study ties up to life-world perspectives, in order to “comprehend” the ways homelessness, criminality and criminalization are interrelated.

The findings draw a complex picture, which is represented by three central components and their varying specifications: a) the specific situations of the life-world of homelessness which are constituting risk factors for criminality and criminalization; b) the acting strategies homeless people develop and apply in order to cope with these situations and c) the interpretative patterns (Deutungsmuster) that influence the choice of the strategies. Those Deutungsmuster are the central point of interconnectedness of the specific situations and the acting strategies.