These folks have a kind of decency about them. They don't steal from each other and their possessions, usually in backpacks, are frequently left unguarded in Peace Park. Their main criminal activity is in the use of drugs, a non-crime as far as I'm concerned. They break the law in other ways. They bring dogs into the park, they get drunk, they hang out in the parks after closing, they panhandle in the wrong locations, they urinate in the bushes, they make a bad impression on tourists, and worst of all, they don't have any houses to live in.
         Every night a few of them end up in jail. There is no social stigma about having been in jail. On State Street everyone goes to jail now and then.