Decriminalizzare la povertà? A proposito del rilancio sopranazionale di un dibattito

Abstract

This paper deals with some aspects arising from the most recent debate on the relationship between poverty and criminality, i.e.: housing poverty as a mostly feminine condition, the possible deflationary effects on crime rate that might be obtained by possibly emergency financial assistance, the different regulating approaches to homelessness, and measures that are increasingly punitive against them. Specifically, the theoretical approaches are compared with Italian case laws. The latter deal with justifications in criminal cases and highlight points of connection between the criminal system and the welfare system. In this context, the article shows the risks associated with such an interpretation which, giving priority to housing poverty to the detriment of other kinds of poverty, focuses on the social role of homeless people and on their deviant behaviours. By doing so, this contributes to building punitive urban regeneration policies causing negative impacts on the penitentiary system. These effects depend on the legislator’s objectives and the resulting operational strategies adopted by the formal social control agencies. They are essentially determined by a particular point of view regarding the stability of residence that is temporarily associated with the duration of the pre-trial measure of house arrest. If this latter point of view is compared with the one of the home stability, highlighted by a very recent case-law when home stability becomes the starting point for the registration of asylum applicants on residence register, the emergence of some discrimination is obvious.

Keywords

• povertà; criminalità; persone senza dimora; cause di giustificazione del reato; politiche di rigenerazione urbana; pervasive penality
• poverty
• criminality
• homeless persons
• justification in criminal law
• urban regeneration policies
• pervasive penality