Invisible Victims

'Presenting a wide range of material in a highly readable, accessible manner, Invisible Victims will appeal to a diverse readership, including policymakers and practitioners involved in welfare and criminal justice agencies. Particularly engaging is the wealth of ethnographic detail that Laura Huey provides from her own fieldwork, which she integrates very well with commentary on and analysis of the relevant academic literature.' -- Julia Wardhaugh, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Bangor University 'Invisible Victims is a significant contribution to research on homelessness, victimization, and security. By featuring the voices of homeless citizens, as well as police and service providers, from cities ranging from San Francisco to Toronto to Edinburgh, Laura Huey brings the topic to life for researchers, students, and general readers.' -- Gregg Barak, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Eastern Michigan University

Invisible Victims presents the first comprehensive, integrated study of the risks faced by homeless people and their attempts to find safety and security in often dangerous environments.

Despite Western society's preoccupation with safety and protection, its most vulnerable members still lack access to the level of security that many of us take for granted. In this trailblazing study, Laura Huey illustrates the issue of a ‘security gap’ faced by increasing homeless populations: while they are among the most likely victims of crime, they are also among the least served by existing forms of state and private security.

Invisible Victims presents the first comprehensive, integrated study of the risks faced by homeless people and their attempts to find safety and security in often dangerous environments.  Huey draws not only on current debates on security within criminology, but also on a decade’s worth of her own field research on the victimization and policing of the homeless. A theoretically and empirically informed examination of the myriad issues affecting the homeless, Invisible Victims makes a compelling case for society to provide necessary services and, above all, a basic level of security for this population.