Working constructively with enforcement

What is enforcement?

Enforcement is a response to mounting concerns regarding street activity such as drinking and begging. It can take the form of a variety of measures either to compel people to leave a certain area or to make an area less comfortable to remain in.

The primary objective of good enforcement strategies is to encourage rough sleepers into contact with services. The Homeless Link Good practice in tackling rough sleeping through outreach services report identified two different motivations of enforcement strategies: the first targets street activity in order to reduce rough sleeping, and the second targets rough sleeping in order to reduce street activity. It is important to make the distinction between street activity and rough sleeping; street activity is people visibly drinking and begging on the streets, whereas rough sleepers are people who have no accommodation to go to, and although these groups can overlap, not all of those involved in street activity are rough sleepers and not all rough sleepers engage in street activity. Therefore an authority needs to be clear about the aim of its enforcement strategy if it is to target the right people. Good practice is best found in considered approaches that combine the disincentives of enforcement along with easy and immediate access to support services. Without a holistic approach to the service, rough sleepers may become more hidden or move to an alternative location where they lack contacts or previously established positive networks.

Methods of enforcement

Arrest

The Vagrancy Act (last amended in 1934) makes rough sleeping unlawful although some police forces take the view that it is not possible to prosecute a rough sleeper if it can not be proved that they have declined to take up available accommodation.

In some areas, the use of enforcement against people begging to support a drugs habit was seen as a positive method of encouraging people into drug treatment services. People arrested for begging can now be tested for drugs and those who test positive for class A are required to attend a compulsory drug assessment, even if not charged. If charged, they may be given a drug rehabilitation requirement (DRR) or a restriction on bail order (ROB).

Criminal and civil sanctions

Begging, public drunkenness and drug use are all criminal offences; Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) are the most commonly used civil sanction to deter these types of activities. ASBOs have flexible provisions and can be used to ban people from rough sleeping in, or entering, specific areas. Prior to obtaining ASBOs from a civil or criminal court, local authorities may try to reach a voluntary agreement with an individual such as an Acceptable Behaviour Agreement or Contract (ABA/ABC). Other enforcement techniques may be used on an area-wide basis, rather than applied to an individual (e.g. drinking bans and exclusion zones).

Designing out

“Designing out” of the urban environment is a measure that makes a street lifestyle less practical and comfortable. This can be a useful tool for tackling areas where groups of rough sleepers regularly form. Examples of designing out that makes sleeping out less conducive include having benches with arm rests, removing dense vegetation, removing ventilation system ducts that pump out hot air at street level, improving lighting and the re-landscaping of flat surfaces.

Making enforcement work

The carrot and stick approach

Enforcement is a “high risk strategy” (Johnsen and Fitzpatrick, 2007) that is only likely to succeed where appropriate support is provided.

Any enforcement strategy, by its very nature, will result in displacement. For the strategy to be effective it must consider the impact, and minimise the risks, of two types of displacement:

1. Geographical - where rough sleepers are moved on from an area, they have little choice but to move to another. Authorities should work with other services in their areas and in neighbouring authorities to reduce the impact of this.
2. Activity - rough sleepers who are targeted for begging may change their means of accessing money to shoplifting or sale of sex and/or drugs. Ensuring that those moved on have immediate access to information regarding support services can reduce this. Working closely with police forces can be key to achieving this.

To minimise the risks associated with both of these types of displacement, authorities should only use enforcement when it is supported by positive options for the rough sleepers such as enabling access to drug and alcohol support services or hostel places. This will ensure that enforcement does not simply result in rough sleepers becoming more hidden or moving to a different location where they lack contacts or previously established positive networks. This necessary support can only be offered where partnership working ensures that when enforcement procedures are enacted, support services (including social services, drug action teams, hostels and day centres) are informed and involved in constructing a support plan.

Co-operation and the exchange of information are crucial to ensuring that enforcement measures are not simply punitive tools but that they encourage rough sleepers to positively change their patterns of behaviour.

One example of where information exchanges support enforcement is in cases of those who lose accommodation due to breaching the terms of ASBOs. Contact between Police, Anti Social Behaviour units, tenancy support and outreach teams helps to prevent return to the streets.

Checklist for an enforcement strategy

Checklist for an effective enforcement approach

Have local services and stakeholders been consulted?

What is the aim of your strategy? Who are you targeting to meet this aim? Have you made a distinction between street activity and rough sleeping?

Are those services that will carry out the enforcement (e.g. Police, PSCOs, Community Wardens) clear about your aims? Can they add good practice measures and identify key areas where enforcement is necessary?

What methods of enforcement will you use? Are there intermediate procedures that can be used prior to ASBOs and arrest?

Do methods treat group and individual behaviour differently and within their own context?

Have appropriate steps been put in place to ensure those subject to enforcement procedures are aware of all the support services available to them? Have working partnership arrangements been put in place to ensure this support is available?

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