Who are the victims here?
Is it the small minority amongst the 35 – 45 members of the street community in Worthing who inhabit our town centre streets causing anti-social behaviour of drunkenness, drug taking, damage, shop lifting and begging; or is it the majority of the residents and visitors to this town, who have to witness this on a daily basis, weave their way amongst the rough sleepers or drunks on the seafront and on park benches; or the shoppers who are approached at cash points or in shop door ways for money and often abused when they decline to give up their cash.
Worthing is a proud town and a great place to live. Not for one minute am I suggesting that we should sweep away the street community or homeless, they are just as vulnerable, often with their own complex needs, as is the 70-year-old lady they harass at the cash point machine. It is simply another type of vulnerability.
Worthing has a strong track record of working with the street community, a mix of those who are genuinely homeless and those that actually have a home that they can return to, but choose a life-style of living on the streets. I have had involvement in the work by Worthing Borough Council and the various other statutory agencies in the town since 2002. Work has been commissioned and resources provided to help address this issue and divert those that want to take help to get back to a less chaotic lifestyle. The work of the voluntary sector in this areas has grown and now with Worthing Council they are providing significant support to the street community and homeless in the town. The value of their work should not be underestimated, but even when you listen to them they will tell you that there are some people who won’t take the help, don’t want to change their lifestyle and believe how they behave on the streets is acceptable and lawful.
So this brings us back to the PSPO, Worthing over the years has reached out and provided resources to help the street community, to show compassion, to try and divert them, to help them make good lifestyle choices and in some cases it has been with good success; our work has attracted awards as innovative best practice, but the issues still persist, there is still a hard core minority of 10-15 persons who persist in causing this anti-social behaviour and making the experience of visiting the town centre unpleasant.
Many will say that begging is an offence, yes it is under the Vagrancy Act, but that needs to be enforced by the Police. We are all too well aware that the reality is our local police with all the pressures they face, are not actively enforcing this legislation. When was someone last arrested for begging in Worthing, certainly no one could tell us. So we are left with an enforcement gap. Council officers and voluntary sector workers engage with the street community and try and help them, local police officers or PCSOs move those on for begging or issue dispersal orders; but the street community know that they are not going to be arrested. They simply move on and start their behaviours again somewhere else in the town centre.
So what was a word of advice or a warning on one day is forgotten and the slate wiped clean ready to start all over again the next day. It is this cycle of ineffectiveness the PSPO will address. It will mean that those who are begging will firstly be spoken with, advised that their behaviour is unacceptable, they will be asked about their lifestyle, what help they need, they will be signposted to appropriate support services. Hopefully they will take this advice and engage. They will be warned that they have breached the PSPO and must not continue with this behaviour.
Should they repeat this behaviour they will again be spoken with, again advised that their behaviour is unacceptable, they will be asked about their lifestyle, have they accessed the help previously offered, what help they may need now. They will be warned that any further breach will result in a fixed penalty fine.
It is only on the third occasion, after attempts at diversion and offers of help and support to the individual, that an enforcement officer may consider issuing a penalty notice.
So let’s reflect on this, instead of wiping the slate clean every day and allowing a person to beg on a daily basis and waiting until it gets aggressive or abusive before we do something, we are taking clear interim steps that escalate to enforcement action. Now on the face of it seems logical to me that a person who is begging, who knows that there is no effective enforcement will carry on begging in another place after being moved on. But a person who knows that they have had their first or second warning and are at risk of getting a penalty notice, might just start to consider if they want to take the risk and may alter their behaviour. It is an active deterrent.
A few councillors feel that this is an inappropriate piece of legislation. That it focusses on those who are homeless – no, it focusses those who are persistently or aggressively begging, whether they are homeless or not – and only after they have had two warnings.
A few councillors think we should only deal with persistent or aggressive begging – no, we should deal with all begging – you have to beg before it can become persistent or turns aggressive, that is seek to deter all forms of begging and by doing so it will not escalate into the persistent or aggressiveness that causes such alarm or distress to local residents or visitors to the town.
Otherwise, by simply focussing on persistent or aggressive begging we are condoning all begging, and saying come to our town centre and beg, but just don’t do it rudely, loudly or too often!
So to the 105,000 plus residents of Worthing and to the thousands who come to our town to work or visit and enjoy the seafront, I saw thank you for telling us that you do not want to be continually exposed to this in your town. That you want us as your local Conservative council to take action. But take action that offers compassion and support to those that are most needy at the same time, but when it is needed will take firm but fair action to stop these behaviours.
Cllr Kevin Jenkins