This chapter is about the policing and regulation of begging in the contemporary urban context. In Britain, as has been explained in previous chapters, begging remains a criminal offence in England and Wales – although not in Scotland – and those involved can be dealt with by the criminal justice process in that jurisdiction in accordance with the 1824 Vagrancy Act. In reality, many people found begging are not prosecuted. While respected sociologists of policing observe that the primary function of the public sector police service has always been to target and control the socially excluded elements of society, among which those found on the streets begging feature prominently (Reiner, 1997; Crowther, 1998), there is, nonetheless, evidence to suggest that many individual police officers have a – often officially sanctioned – tolerant attitude towards those encountered begging on our streets. Intervention and prosecution invariably requires the person to have compounded their actions with aggressive behaviour (Hopkins Burke, 1998a). The recent introduction of zero-tolerance policing strategies suggests a change in emphasis towards the targeting of all beggars, both passive and aggressive. The reality – as we shall see below – is somewhat different.

The evidence of history suggests that more coercive measures have usually been taken against those found begging when the numbers involved visibly escalate and, not surprisingly, this is – notwithstanding the difficulties there are in quantifying the phenomenon – inclined to occur at times of persistent economic recession and social upheaval (for a comprehensive review see Postan, 1972; Slack, 1974; Beier, 1985; Rose, 1988; Rogers, 1991; Coldham, 1992; Hopkins Burke, 1998a). At such times, the authorities have tended to favour some form of repressive intervention with the intention of maintaining social order and the protection of the status quo (Hopkins Burke, 1998a).

In the years following the Second World War – with economic boom conditions, full employment and the new social security system – there were relatively few people to be found begging on the streets (Rose 1988). Their substantially reduced ranks predominantly consisted of men with alcohol-related problems living in derelict buildings and sleeping rough (Conroy, 1975; Archard, 1979; Healey, 1988). The return to begging on a large scale occurred following the collapse of the long post-war economic boom and the subsequent retreat from the welfare state that has epitomised the subsequent government response (Jessop, 1990).