At Simon on the Streets, we’ve always stood united with others in our charity sector in the belief that homelessness is NOT a crime.

Although all forms of homelessness are devastating, those facing the most visible form, sleeping rough, experience so many unique, complex and difficult challenges. Challenges like sexual and domestic violence, as well as physical and mental health issues. 

The thought that anyone would be criminalised for finding themselves in this situation isn’t a good one, yet that’s exactly what the Vagrancy Act did. Whilst this Act has now been repealed, there are big concerns about the potentially damaging provisions that future legislation may hold.  Keep reading to learn more. 

What is the vagrancy act?

For just short of 200 years, the Vagrancy Act made begging and rough sleeping a crime in England and Wales.

At Simon on the Streets, we stand firm in our belief that criminalisation does nothing to support those who are homeless. If anything, individuals who are punished because they are ‘caught’ sleeping rough are more likely to become deeply entrenched in the cycle of homelessness, w, with no way out. They need our support, not our judgement. 

Has the Vagrancy Act been scrapped?

Since early 2021, the government has pledged to scrap the Vagrancy Act once and for all. And on the face of it, it seems that that they kept to their word. In April 2022, through the enactment of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, the government officially repealed the Vagrancy Act, however, this change didn’t appear to be permanent.

In Summer 2022, homeless charity Crisis noticed a clause, tucked away in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which could have reinstated the Vagrancy Act. Although reassurance was received from the government that this was a mistake, there was a general sense of unease. As a result of months of campaigning led by Crisis, and opposition from all parties, the government removed the vagrancy clause that would have essentially ‘criminialised homelessness by the backdoor’.

This was a massive achievement, but not something we could celebrate for long.

Despite monumental progress towards decriminalising rough sleeping, we remain tense as we learn the government’s proposals for what will replace the Vagrancy Act, especially as we hear discussions surrounding laws to prohibit begging in England and Wales.

How can we stop the government from criminalising begging?

In order to put a stop to another harmful piece of legislation, it’s vital that we raise awareness of the wider implications this would have on those facing homelessness.

Because of this, we fully support the campaign to ‘tell the government: don’t criminalise homelessness by the back door’, which will serve only to make accessibility to support even harder for those who need it. We’re asking for our entire community of supporters, volunteers, partners, and the wider general public to support us in this too. 

As the number of rough sleepers increases by over a quarter in a year, it’s evident that now more than ever, those facing homelessness need our support, not punishment.

Please sign and share the petition here:

https://campaigns.crisis.org.uk/page/104386/petition/1?ea.tracking.id=CrisisUK-web