Begging/Homelessness

Street homelessness has been a policy priority in England since the early 1990’s and subsequent years have seen a substantial decline in levels of rough sleeping.

Concerns have mounted over the past few years about the ‘street culture’ activities associated with rough sleeping, especially begging and street drinking. The evidence is now overwhelming that begging in the UK is very closely associated with alcohol and drug misuse.

Research undertaken by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (Johnsen and Fitzpatrick, 2007) confirms earlier evidence that those involved in street activities, particularly begging, have often suffered extremely traumatic life histories.

However, begging and rough sleeping have an impact upon the public’s perceptions of safety and therefore impact upon fear of crime levels. Locally, we have found that begging and rough sleeping affects perceptions of visitors to the city of York. In addition, local businesses often complain that the presence of beggars/street homeless can deter people from entering their premises and therefore impacts upon trade.

Taking the above into account, Safer York Partnership seeks to take a considered and proportionate approach to tackling begging in York.

Working through the local police Safer Neighbourhoods Team, City of York Council Homeless team and various voluntary agencies, our first aim is to sign-post those involved in begging, to one of the many support agencies within the city.

We will, however, take a firmer approach to persistent or problematic beggars who consistently refuse to engage with any form of support or treatment. These individuals are likely to be referred to our Anti-Social Behaviour Panel. However, we will seek, as far as possible, to include a supportive element to any enforcement action we take using this route.

Safer York Partnership in conjunction with its partners have placed Begging Boxes throughout the city to collect donations and these funds are donated to support services working with homeless people.