HOMELESS ARE JUST ‘CAREER BEGGARS’
Controversy as top city official and police say rough sleepers ‘exploit’ the public
ROUGH sleepers in one of Scotland’s big- gest cities are ‘career beggars’ who exploit the public, it was claimed last night. Many are not homeless and use ‘props’ such as sleeping bags to con people into handing over £60 a day, according to a top council boss and the police.
Sarah Craig, Dundee’s city centre manager, said some of those who appeared to be homeless had accommodation and it was ‘heartbreaking’ to see elderly people give them money.
Last night the claims sparked a row, with supporters saying that those who ‘exploit’ begging harm the genuinely destitute, while those who work with the homeless branded the claims ‘deeply offensive’.
Miss Craig’s comments – made to a meeting of Dundee’s City Centre and Harbour Community Council – come as the city opened the world-class V&A museum at the weekend.
She said: ‘They are career
beggars. We know all the individuals and despite the fact that some of them appear homeless they have accommodation.
‘It breaks my heart to see people, especially the elderly, reaching into their purses for sometimes quite significant amounts of money.’
She spoke out against ‘career beggars’ in 2016, claiming that begging was a ‘lifestyle choice’ for many, rather than a necessity.
Following her latest intervention, local community police officer Sergeant Martin Jenkins said he knew of some beggars making up to £60 a day.
He also claimed some beggars took sleeping bags out into the streets to use as ‘props’ to attract sympathy.
Mr Jenkins said: ‘If they’re sleeping on the streets that is their choice. There are some you’ll see with sleeping bags but a lot of the time they’re taking that out with them as a prop.’
Last night, Conservative North East MSP Bill Bowman said there are some homeless people who ‘exploit’ begging.
He added: ‘In every city there are genuine examples of homeless people who beg just to survive. But there’s no question that there are others who exploit this and are tricking people into giving them money.
‘That’s completely unacceptable behaviour and it’s something all responsible agencies have to look at in future.
‘Their behaviour brings city centres down and harms those who are genuinely destitute.’
According to the homelessness charity Crisis, more than 1,400 people applied to be classed as homeless by Dundee City Council in 2015. It added that the city had one of the highest rates in Scotland of residents having to spend a night with no roof over their heads.
Alison Watson, deputy director of homelessness charity Shelter Scotland, criticised Miss Craig’s comments.
She said: ‘The term “career beggar” is deeply offensive and it’s shocking to hear someone from the council referring to people with such contempt.
‘The reality is that whatever the reasons for people begging, it is a desperate, lonely and dangerous existence and not something that people just choose to do.
‘Not everyone who begs is homeless and not everyone who is homeless begs. These comments assume they are the same thing and show no understanding of the real people in these stories.
‘Our experience is that no one who is begging would do so if they had another option.’
She added: ‘It may well be the case that some of those who beg have some form of accommodation but that should not mean support should be withdrawn.’
People begging on the streets in Dundee said Miss Craig’s remarks, reported in the city’s Evening Telegraph newspaper, were ‘total nonsense’.
One man, Michael, 31, said he received Universal Credit benefit but insisted it was not enough to get by on. ‘I get about £200 a month but in places such as Soapwork Lane [homeless unit] you pay £80 a fortnight for your accommodation,’ he said.
‘I’m out here begging so I can afford to feed myself. I have to go to the church’s clothing bank so I can dress myself.
‘Do you think I want to be out here? Of course not. What she’s saying is total nonsense.’
Last week Dundee’s stunning new art and design museum – the
‘Behaviour brings city centres down’
V&A – opened its doors to the world. The £80.1million building, designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, is expected to attract 500,000 visitors to the city in its opening year.
Miss Craig did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘From time to time the police come into contact with people who are homeless and where appropriate we assess their vulnerabilities.
‘Tayside Division will look to ways to resolve these issues in the best interests of all concerned, recognising that the person who is involved could be better helped by seeking out the assistance of agencies and charitable organisations that are there for them.’
Earlier this year a report by a police officer to a Stirling community council said the city was being targeted by bogus beggars who pretend to be homeless to rake in hundreds of pounds a week. The unnamed officer also claimed the beggars were conning residents.
The report, submitted to Mercat Cross and City Centre Community Council, followed a clampdown in which police chiefs vowed to ‘clean up’ Stirling’s rough sleepers.
At the time, the officer wrote: ‘No person begging in the city is homeless. They have a home provided to them by the council.’
The issue of ‘barefoot beggars’ who work as part of an organised gang has previously been highlighted as a problem affecting the entire country.
In April 2014, a Scottish Daily Mail investigation revealed the Scotland-wide con was taking place in many cities and towns.
In what was described as a lucrative operation, those involved ‘commuted’ by train under the control of a gangmaster and were reported to have been begging in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Stirling and Ayr.
The gangmasters also ferried large groups of the conmen and women to city centre locations by van.
We told how Caroline Dark, a fundraiser for a theatre company from Glasgow, fell victim to the scam when she saw a barefoot man in the city’s Buchanan Street, shivering uncontrollably as though he was suffering from an illness.
She bought the beggar a pair of £8 slippers from H&M – but by the time she came out of the shop, he had fled.