Policing homelessness: neighborhood predictors of clearing encampments and vehicle residences

U.S. cities have long embraced spatial removal to manage the visibility of homelessness, yet the determinants of these tactics remain understudied. Extant literature often excludes vehicle residents, focuses on formal legal sanctions, and fails to account for the prevalence of homelessness. Addressing such gaps, this paper leverages novel administrative and street outreach data to interrogate the relationship between contemporary removal practices and neighborhood characteristics in Seattle, Washington. Spatiotemporal models suggest that the prevalence of homelessness in an area may not substantially influence the forced displacement of unsheltered residents. Removal instead seems related to other contextual factors. Most notably, increases in neighborhood property value predict more encampment sweeps and vehicle impoundments. Both interventions also positively correlate with public complaints and crime, while vehicle removals seem further associated with higher concentrations of Black residents. These findings extend prior theories on development-driven and complaint-oriented policing. Authorities may disproportionately target locations experiencing economic expansion, as well as those where residents more actively submit grievances. These patterns even appear to reflect existing racial and spatial disparities in law enforcement practices. Clarifying these mechanisms will help communities more effectively address processes that criminalize homelessness, perpetuate injustice, and reshape place.