Naomi Long move to decriminalise begging and rough sleeping welcomed - but PSNI expresses concerns
The homeless sector has welcomed moves by the Justice Minister to decriminalize begging and sleeping rough - however police say it could limit their powers to deal with organised begging and related organised crime.
Justice Minister Naomi Long has tabled an amendment to the Justice Bill which, if passed, will repeal sections of the Vagrancy Act 1824 and the Vagrancy Act (Ireland) 1847 that criminalise rough sleeping and simple begging.
According to assembly research there were 286 prosecutions for begging and 44 for rough sleeping from 2018 to 2023.
Mrs Long told the News Letter the “outdated and archaic legislation” criminalises some of the most vulnerable in our society.
She said: “Rough sleeping and begging are often linked to underlying issues such as homelessness, poverty, alcohol and drug addiction, poor mental health, sexual and domestic abuse, family breakdown, adverse childhood experiences and low educational attainment.
“These are complex and cross-cutting issues which I firmly believe require a multi-agency response of support rather than criminalising people simply because of their personal circumstances.”
Homeless Connect, the representative body for the homelessness sector in NI, urged all MLAs to support the repeal.
Its public affairs officer Dr Leeanne O’Hara said: “We believe that criminal sanctions are an ineffective response to what is fundamentally a social issue. Criminalising poverty does not address the root causes that lead people to beg or sleep rough.
“A properly funded, trauma-informed, multi-agency approach offers a far more effective path to positive outcomes than punitive measures.”
Giving evidence to the justice committee in November, Assistant Chief Constable Anthony McNally said police do not want to see begging or rough sleeping criminalised – but said they are concerned that the repeal could leave “gaps” in legislation.
He said repeal would mean officers “will not attend calls relating to begging unless other aggravating factors or offences, such as public order offences or harassment, are being committed”.
And he urged NI to adopt recent legislation in the Republic of Ireland and England which makes it a criminal offence to organise begging and to enter any building as a trespasser.
It would be “prudent” to prepare legislation to deal with “organised begging or an established link with serious and organised crime in Northern Ireland,” he said.
Paul Frew MLA has tabled amendments to the bill, to be debated on Monday, which will, if passed, create new offences for organised begging and trespassing, in line with police concerns.
Two organisations representing Belfast city centre businesses which fund PSNI patrol officers, told the DoJ consultation that police have found that most people use begging money to fund drug or alcohol dependency.
They said: “The existing vagrancy laws enable the PSNI to tackle this issue effectively, even when no arrest for begging is made, it can be used as a preventative tool.”
One said that the PSNI has witnessed “organised groups of Eastern European beggars being dropped off at certain points in the city centre with signage stating that they are homeless or have an illness or a disability, and that some of these would be aggressive in the nature of their begging”.
They held that current legislation helps the police “to eliminate this problem by making arrests quickly and effectively” and that repeal could lead to “an escalation of these type of incidents”.