2024-04-18 00:51:06
The rise in the number of people sleeping in public places has led the UK government to repeal the Vagrancy Act, which has been in force for two centuries. In return, it will take other, tougher and more controversial measures aimed at making Britons feel safer.
As reported by Day.Az with reference to foreign media, the criminal justice bill is intended to replace the Vagrancy Act of 1824, which provides punishment for living on the streets and begging and which was introduced to persecute soldiers who were wounded during the Napoleonic wars and began to beg after returning.
The new bill proposes tougher measures against those deemed to be causing a “nuisance” such as a “nuisance odour”, including the possibility of a fine of 2,500 pounds ($3,100) or up to one month in prison.
A group of 40 Conservative parliamentarians opposes this initiative. Deputy Bob Blackman believes that “instead of arresting homeless people and putting them in a cell, the police should help them find a place where they can safely stay.”
The number of people in England who spent at least one night on the street in 2023 increased by 27 percent to 3,898 compared to 2022, according to the latest official data.
Supporters of the new law are determined to put an end to the problem of people sleeping on the streets once and for all by addressing the root causes of why they end up there in the first place. Planned investment to combat vagrancy is £2.4 billion ($3.05 billion).
In 2019, the UK government promised to tackle the problem of people sleeping on the streets by 2024, but figures indicate that this promise has not been kept and the situation is getting worse.
With not enough social housing built in recent decades and rents at record highs, thousands of people are forced to spend their nights on the streets in the cold in winter, according to British media reports.
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