CRHnews - Chelmsford is a fine City . . .. £100 fine for being homeless

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• published: 16 Jan 2016
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PROPOSALS to ban begging and fine rough sleepers in the city should be abandoned, say angry protesters. Almost 2,000 people have signed two petitions after this newspaper revealed last week that homeless people could be hit with £100 fines, writes Harriet Sinclair, of the Essex Chronicle. But Chelmsford City Council insists only people sleeping rough who are being anti-social and have been offered housing will be fined. A spokeswoman said: "The Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) only prohibits rough sleeping in specific circumstances. To be prohibited, it must result in anti-social behaviour, and accommodation must be available to the person. "Anti-social behaviour arising from rough sleeping is a recurring problem in the city centre. Many of the problems arise from individuals who are not homeless, or who have refused appropriate accommodation. "The purpose of this part of the PSPO is to help individuals into accommodation and to manage the root cause of the problems. "This is one tool in a host of initiatives to help rough sleepers to engage with the right agencies and get assistance." However, homeless charities have criticised the move, adding that the council would be wasting resources that could otherwise be spent on helping homeless and vulnerably housed people. The leader of the opposition at Chelmsford City Council, Liberal Democrat councillor Stephen Robinson, said: "We are against the idea of £100 fines and will be asking questions about it at Wednesday's meeting. "I know there are more than 1,000 signatures on a petition about this, so it shows people have pretty strong feelings on the subject and it seems a daft idea to fine people who don't have money." Following last week's article about the proposed fines, Chronicle readers took to social media in droves to defend rough sleepers, with one reader, David McIlwaine, starting a petition. Mr McIlwaine addressed it to Keith Nicholson, director of public places, and has so far attracted more than 600 signatures. Another petition, launched by Mazzie Capps on thepetitionsite.org, has more than 1,150 signatures and asks Chelmsford MP Simon Burns and councillor Dick Madden to say no to fining the homeless. The new PSPO powers are being considered for use by several councils around the country, with national homeless charity Crisis also suggesting that penalising rough sleepers would be detrimental to the problem of homelessness. Matt Downie, director of policy and external affairs at Crisis, said: "Rough sleepers are far more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrators. Any moves to ban and penalise rough sleeping will be counter-productive and will only make it harder for people to access the dedicated support they need to move away from the streets for good. "Of course, if people break the law they should be held to account for it, but rough sleeping itself is not a crime. People in such desperate circumstances deserve better than to be treated as a nuisance – they may have suffered a relationship breakdown, a bereavement or domestic abuse. The real issue here is the substantial rise in homelessness in recent years, with rough sleeping in England up 55 per cent since 2010. "Instead of PSPOs that penalise rough sleeping, we need a real safety net for anyone finding themselves in difficulty, including housing benefit that actually covers the cost of renting, a much stronger focus on preventing homelessness, and a change in the law so that no one is forced to sleep rough." Read more: http://www.essexchronicle.co.uk/2-000-join-fight-plans-fine-rough-sleepers-pound/story-28240832-detail/story.html#ixzz3xS5InJOy Follow us: @Essex_Chronicle on Twitter | essexchronicle on Facebook # https://www.facebook.com/Homelessness-is-not-a-crime-Chelmsford-453269011548596/?fref=ts