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09/02/2007
Police tackle illegal begging in Belfast
Police in South Belfast have been working closely with partner agencies from the start of January to pro-actively address the problem of illegal begging.
Since the beginning of the year the number of people begging in Belfast City Centre on a daily basis has increased from around six to up to 16.
Police received a number of reports from members of the public and business owners concerned that in some cases children were being used for the purposes of illegal begging and that people engaged in this activity had acted in an aggressive way towards them. There were also reports of unauthorised sellers of the magazine the 'Irish Issue'.
Inspector Robert Murdie, Sector Commander for Belfast City Centre, said that the ongoing operation to tackle the problems had been very successful so far.
"The operation has made an immediate impact in reducing the number of people begging. We did this through a graduated approach of education and enforcement, as there are cases where prosecution will not solve all of the issues.
"We were aware that some of the people involved in begging were of Eastern European origin and so obtained the services of interpreters to assist us tackle the problem. My officers, with the assistance of interpreters, spoke to a significant number of people who were begging over the last few weeks as part of a programme of education. While begging is illegal in Northern Ireland this is not case in some other countries.
"We have been working closely with the Irish Issue to make sure that people are adhering to the magazine's strict code of conduct which we handed out to people in a number of different languages.
Inspector Murdie continued: "We have also been working with the Welcome Centre, to ensure that anyone who is homeless is given the necessary support and assistance. In addition, we have been liaising with Social Services in relation to reports that children are being used in illegal begging.
"However, part of the operation was also about enforcement and we seized a large number of Irish Issues (which were given back to the publishers) and fake documentation from unauthorised sellers. A significant amount of flowers were also seized from people who were selling them illegally without a street trading licence. In addition, yesterday my officers were out on the street with the remit of arresting or reporting to the PPS anyone who was involved in illegal begging. Fortunately, the message seems to be getting through and we did not have to make any arrests.”
He concluded by saying that it is important that everyone continues to work together to address all of the wider issues surrounding begging to ensure it is dealt with appropriately and effectively and not just simply displaced elsewhere.
(EF/SP)
Since the beginning of the year the number of people begging in Belfast City Centre on a daily basis has increased from around six to up to 16.
Police received a number of reports from members of the public and business owners concerned that in some cases children were being used for the purposes of illegal begging and that people engaged in this activity had acted in an aggressive way towards them. There were also reports of unauthorised sellers of the magazine the 'Irish Issue'.
Inspector Robert Murdie, Sector Commander for Belfast City Centre, said that the ongoing operation to tackle the problems had been very successful so far.
"The operation has made an immediate impact in reducing the number of people begging. We did this through a graduated approach of education and enforcement, as there are cases where prosecution will not solve all of the issues.
"We were aware that some of the people involved in begging were of Eastern European origin and so obtained the services of interpreters to assist us tackle the problem. My officers, with the assistance of interpreters, spoke to a significant number of people who were begging over the last few weeks as part of a programme of education. While begging is illegal in Northern Ireland this is not case in some other countries.
"We have been working closely with the Irish Issue to make sure that people are adhering to the magazine's strict code of conduct which we handed out to people in a number of different languages.
Inspector Murdie continued: "We have also been working with the Welcome Centre, to ensure that anyone who is homeless is given the necessary support and assistance. In addition, we have been liaising with Social Services in relation to reports that children are being used in illegal begging.
"However, part of the operation was also about enforcement and we seized a large number of Irish Issues (which were given back to the publishers) and fake documentation from unauthorised sellers. A significant amount of flowers were also seized from people who were selling them illegally without a street trading licence. In addition, yesterday my officers were out on the street with the remit of arresting or reporting to the PPS anyone who was involved in illegal begging. Fortunately, the message seems to be getting through and we did not have to make any arrests.”
He concluded by saying that it is important that everyone continues to work together to address all of the wider issues surrounding begging to ensure it is dealt with appropriately and effectively and not just simply displaced elsewhere.
(EF/SP)
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