The Criminalisation of Poverty

What’s happening?

Years of austerity measures from the 2010s and the current cost-of-living crisis has had a real effect on every one of us. The latest figures show an alarming 27% rise in rough sleeping.

Anyone could fall on hard times. We want to know that if we or our loved ones need support, it will be there for us.

But for years, the Government, police, and local authorities have punished people who are struggling to make ends meet; from banning rough sleeping to issuing large fines to people experiencing homelessness.

During the General Election, Labour promised ‘change’ and “to put Britain back on track to ending homelessness”. But instead of tackling the root causes, Labour’s Crime and Policing Bill wants to double down on this criminalisation of poverty.

RESPECT ORDERS

The Bill proposes introducing ‘Respect Orders’ – a rebranded version of ASBOs that gives the police and local authorities powers to criminalise poverty-related behaviours such as begging.  Authorities will be allowed to impose harsh conditions, including banning people experiencing homelessness from local parks and town centres, that carry a penalty of prison sentences or unlimited fines if breached.

There is also no duty in the Bill for councils and police to provide support to those given Respect Orders, which completely undermines the Government’s efforts to tackle homelessness, including their £1 billion pledge to reduce rough sleeping in 2025-26.

Respect Orders copy existing anti-social behaviour powers. So not only is there no need for them, but the lesson from these similar powers is that Respect Orders will be disproportionately applied to people experiencing homelessness or begging – effectively criminalising poverty and simply trying to survive.

HARSHER CPN’S AND PSPO’S

For years, police officers have been abusing Community Protection Notices (CPNs) and Dispersal Orders to force people experiencing homelessness or who are begging to leave areas – sometimes the areas they live in – for up to 48 hours.
Local councils too use Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) to ban rough sleeping and begging in their town centres, with hefty fines leading people into ever more debt.

Labour’s new Bill, if passed, will increase these dispersal powers from 48 to 72 hours and raise the maximum level for on-the-spot CPN and PSPO fines from £100 to £500 – a staggering 400% increase that will further punish those who can’t make ends meet. 

Why should we be concerned?

Criminalisation is not just ineffective—it actively makes things worse.

For one, the 200-year-old Vagrancy Act that makes begging and rough sleeping criminal offences is still in force and is still used by police to prosecute people in need. It’s older than the police that enforce it and couldn’t be more out of date.

Crisis’s Homelessness Monitor shows that UK homelessness figures have risen dramatically since 2014 – the year PSPOs and CPNs were created – with a sharp increase in street homelessness and record levels of households in temporary accommodation.

Hundreds of people have been imprisoned using anti-social behaviour powers against poverty-related behaviour. Research by JUSTICE in 2023 revealed these powers were particularly used against homeless people, Gypsy and Traveller communities, and those experiencing mental health difficulties.

Rather than fixing this, the Crime and Policing Bill lowers thresholds and adds more powers—risking further criminalisation of poverty at a time of record homelessness.

What are we calling for?

The Government should be building safety nets, not tripwires. People need homes and support—not punishment and prison.

That’s why we’re calling on the Government to scrap Respect Orders – and harsher fines for CPNs and PSPOs – from their Crime and Policing Bill, and instead direct investment into housing, mental health services, and community-led interventions that tackle the root causes of poverty.