"had their homes invaded and damaged, their possessions stolen (and often sold for drugs)" Sounds like burglary and criminal damage, not squatting, is the issu

"had their homes invaded and damaged, their possessions stolen (and often sold for drugs)" Sounds like burglary and criminal damage, not squatting, is the issue here. The problem is that those are hard to prove and it's easier just to have a catch-all crime for squatting.