Beggars at London Bridge have been targeted by British Transport Police (BTP) as part of a two-month crackdown.
From December to January, ‘Operation Bonda’ has seen British Transport Police stop people from “actively begging and acting in an anti-social manner” on board trains.
According to a report by Transport for London (TfL) Commissioner Andy Lord, not everyone who begs is homeless and there is a problem of “organised begging”.
In his report, he wrote: “Many associate begging with homelessness but this is not always the case…We have issues with passive begging, aggressive begging… Where there are issues with aggressive or organised begging, our police partners will use enforcement powers to deal with the behaviour.”
According to the report ‘tissue sellers’ – people who sell low-value items on trains – are also being sought by police.
According to Mr Lord’s report, rough sleeping is a “safeguarding priority” for TfL. It says TfL has its own outreach team, operated by homelessness charity Thames Reach, which aims to help rough sleepers find long-term housing.
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So far this financial year, Thames Reach has engaged with 116 individuals who were rough sleeping on TfL’s network and have conducted 136 shifts.
According to a Freedom of Request (FOI) submitted in 2020, TfL does not have “a formal policy” on begging on board its vehicles.
“Whilst we do not have a formal policy on begging or busking on our London Buses network, we closely monitor station staff reports in relation to where issues with begging have been identified and work closely with the BTP to tackle this,” a TfL officer wrote.
Busking is allowed on the London Underground as long as performers obtain a license from TfL. An FOI request has previously shown that unlicensed buskers are sometimes asked to move on by TfL staff.
Southwark News has asked BTP where beggars are directed once they are told to stop begging. It has also been asked whether they differentiate between organised beggars and genuine homeless.
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