Drugs, crime, and racial disparities in the homeless population gathered from a sample of police reports: Evidence from Brazil

Brazil is one of the most unequal democracies in the world. Although the number of homeless individuals in our country has increased due to the reproduction of people living in extreme poverty, little has been discussed about their welfare and rights. In the present study, we provide analysis with a theoretical-methodological approach directed at homeless people living in the wealthy neoliberal middle-sized southeast city of São Paulo, Brazil’s richest state. Data was acquired from police reports with prior permission from the Civil Police of São Paulo and the São Paulo Interior Judiciary Police Department. Our results illustrate that the homelessness phenomenon in Franca appears to be comparable to that of other large urban cities, where Blacks, a minority of the population, make up the bulk of homeless individuals. It also denies that homeless activity increases criminality, emphasizes the difference between Blacks and Whites drug users’ criminal behavior, with Whites being more active in theft and robbery and Blacks in trafficking, and extends the idea that drug use by homeless people is stress-related and hence an indicator of a health condition. •Homelessness portrays the role of capitalism in its creation and perpetuation.•The neoliberal frame characterizes black and poor people as lacking merit.•In homeless people, ethnic origin is on the root of stigmatization and segregation.•Black people is more victim of this type of violence resulting from social stigma.