Offences under the Vagrancy Act - 1371/20

Date Responded 29 September 2020

Provision of information held by Northumbria Police made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the 'Act')

As you may be aware the purpose of the Act is to allow a general right of access to information held at the time of a request, by a Public Authority (including the Police), subject to certain limitations and exemptions.

You asked:

Can I please request this information for each of these financial years: 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, and 2021/21 from the start of the financial year 2020 to 10 Sept 2020:

  1. The number of arrests the force made for offences under the Vagrancy Act 1824
  2. The number of charges the force made for offences under the Vagrancy Act 1824
  3. The number of warnings issued for offences under the Vagrancy Act 1824
  4. The number of fixed penalty notices issued for offences under the Vagrancy Act 1824

In Response:

We have now had the opportunity to fully consider your request and I provide a response for your attention.

Following receipt of your request, searches were conducted with both the Corporate Development Department and Fixed Penalty Unit of Northumbria Police.  I can confirm that the information you have requested is held, in part, by Northumbria Police.

I am able to disclose the located information to you as follows.

The results for this request were obtained by the following offences which were identified under the Vagrancy Act 1824

  • Resisting or obstructing constables
  • Offences by prostitutes: Second conviction as an idle and disorderly person
  • Begging, wandering abroad or being in any street etc.; begging or gathering alms or causing or procuring any child so to do
  • Sleeping out. Wandering abroad and lodging in any barn, outside deserted or unoccupied building or in the open-air etc.
  • Being on enclosed premises for an unlawful purpose
  • Other offences (against Vagrancy Acts) -second conviction as an idle and disorderly person
  • Wandering abroad and exposing fortunes
  • Collecting alms or endeavouring to procure charitable contributions by fraudulent pretence
  • Pretending or professing to tell fortunes
  • Peddlers; trading prostitutes; begging alms; idle and disorderly persons

1.  Begging, wandering abroad or being in any street etc; begging or gathering alms or causing or procuring any child so to do

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

11

12

5

4

0

Being on enclosed premises for an unlawful purpose

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

35

8

17

10

2

 

2.  Being on enclosed premises for an unlawful purpose

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

6

1

2

1

1

 

3.  None.

4.  No information held.  This is not an offence for which a FPN would be issued.

Disclaimer

Due to the different methods of recording information across 43 forces, a specific response from one constabulary should not be seen as an indication of what information could be supplied (within cost) by another. Systems used for recording these figures are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data. For this reason responses between forces may differ, and should not be used for comparative purposes.

The information we have supplied to you is likely to contain intellectual property rights of Northumbria Police. Your use of the information must be strictly in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) or such other applicable legislation. In particular, you must not re-use this information for any commercial purpose.

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