Posted Sep 9,2009
In a downturn, begging goes on an upswing. “You do see more of it,” says Roughan MacNamara of Focus Ireland, which aids the homeless. A typical government response is to crack down. Ireland, for instance, is rewriting 1847 anti-vagrancy laws so that police officers can round up “aggressive” beggars, deemed a threat to pedestrians, businesses, and tourism.
Anti-begging laws are gaining popularity in North America as well, says University of Toronto criminologist Joe Hermer. But his research suggests that police initially enforce such laws, then inevitably turn to other issues—and beggars return to the streets.
Joe Hermer gets a mention in the National Geographic. Tom
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