Growing numbers of vulnerable homeless people are being fined, given criminal convictions and even imprisoned for begging and rough sleeping, the Guardian can reveal. Local authorities in England and Wales have issued hundreds of fixed-penalty notices and pursued criminal convictions for “begging”, “persistent and aggressive begging” and “loitering” since they were given strengthened powers to combat antisocial behaviour in 2014 by then home secretary, Theresa May. In December 2017, then home secretary Amber Rudd told councils not to misuse antisocial behaviour laws by targeting homeless people. But councils that use PSPOs to ban begging and related activities from their town centres insist the measures are not targeted at homeless people. We set this out clearly when in December last year we refreshed the statutory guidance for frontline professionals on the use of the antisocial behaviour powers.

Source: The Guardian May 20, 2018 17:00 UTC