SOME of York’s most aggressive beggars have been arrested and ordered off the city centre streets in a police crackdown.

Officers have targeted beggars preying on the sympathy of shoppers and tourists by claiming to be homeless so they can pocket cash to spend on drink and drugs.

Begging “hotspots” in the heart of the city, including Duncombe Place, Stonegate, St Helen’s Square and near Bootham and Micklegate Bars, have been targeted, with action taken against five of the worst offenders.

Uniformed patrols and the use of plain-clothes officers have led to them being told to leave the area where they are begging for a 48-hour period or being arrested and taken to court, with the Guildhall Safer Neighbourhood Team saying they want to deter them from using the city centre for their activities.

The Neighbourhood team also said several people had claimed to have been victims of alcohol-fuelled antisocial behaviour from beggars in the city centre. Most have put themselves in a homeless position, and were claiming enough benefits to live on.

PC Dave Scott, of the Guildhall North Safer Neighbourhood team, said: “There are several persons in the city who are persistent beggars and the team are focusing their efforts to deter these individuals from coming into the city centre.

“They prey on the compassion on the public by falsely creating a persona of being in financial difficulty and homeless.”

He said police would continue to use powers to issue people Section 27 orders – allowing them to remove anybody causing an alcohol-fuelled disturbance from a particular area for up to two days.

Police have also been working closely with the Salvation Army as well as the Peasholme Centre to deter those staying at the units begging on the streets.

Helping the homeless

BEGGING which can involve anything from a cap with a few coins in it lying on the pavement to aggressive targeting of people using cash machines – is illegal with police having the powers of arrest.

PC Scott said that, however, isn’t the strategy police want to adopt.

The focus is on trying to help people who are genuinely homeless and in real need – and trying to deter those who are not.

There are a range of organisations working to support rough sleepers and homeless people in York. They include Arc Light, the Peaseholme Centre, the Salvation Army and drugs organisations such as Compass.

Charlie Malarkey, a spokesman on behalf of the York branch of Salvation Army, has praised police for their approach to the homeless, saying: “We can not blow their trumpet enough.

“They work closely with us and other agencies to help those in need and offer advice to those who are homeless. They take a very different soft approach now and want to help people and together with our street walkers give advice to those about where to go for help.

“Unfortunately, we know of a few who do not want help and do not want accommodation they are offered. I know one man who said he can earn up to £70 a day begging on the streets to feed his drug habit. So from our point of view the police are right in what they are saying and doing.”