Hundreds of homeless people fined and imprisoned in England and Wales
Councils use a range of tools to crackdown on begging, but PSPOs are the most popular. Breaching a PSPO can lead to a £100 fixed-penalty notice, but offenders face a summary conviction, sometimes a criminal behaviour order (CBO) banning an individual for future begging and a fine of up to £1,000 if they fail to pay. Violating a CBO can result in five years in prison. Read More
Local councils are criminalizing poverty, however, the thought process behind the fines are laughable. A person begging or ‘sleeping rough’ can be fined up to £1,000 for so doing. Obiously someone at this state of poverty has no money. The fine therefore, will be uncollectable and the individual will go to jail, thereby costing the state more money. It costs £65,000 to imprison a person in the UK once police, court costs and all the other steps are taken into account. https://goo.gl/hf0mnj ]
However, inprisonment has vastly improved the situation for the homeless person as they now have a roof, food, a warm bed and full medical care. Eventually they may be able to sue the government for wrongfull imprisonment and collect enough to purchase a home.
