Street begging clampdown by police across south Wales

Begging on the streets is to be clamped down on by police across south Wales.

Operation Luscombe has been running in Merthyr Tydfil since 2020 but is now being rolled out across the area, including Cardiff and Swansea.

South Wales Police said it aimed to help homeless people access help and support.

However some councillors said the measures could be seen as "hostile" and risked criminalising and isolating some of the most vulnerable people.

Based on a model first used in London known as Operation Luscombe, police aim to help people who are found - or suspected of - begging secure access to services.

Those include emergency accommodation, and financial and mental health support, as well as help for any alcohol or substance misuse.

However the force can issue Community Protection Warnings (CPW) and Community Protection Notices (CPN) if they refuse to seek help, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Temporary Supt Tony Williams said: "We encourage vulnerable people to engage with the many support agencies and outreach services that are available."

But Cardiff councillor Rhys Taylor called schemes elsewhere in the UK a "hostile environment" and said measures must be taken to ensure the council is not "further entrenching" the issue of criminalising homeless people.

Mr Taylor added: "It is generally recognised by homelessness charities that this form of approach to begging is detrimental to getting people to actually access services."

The Cardiff cabinet member for housing and communities, Lynda Thorne, said: "The intention is to make sure we are not criminalising individuals, and the police try to encourage people to engage with the support. It is not about forcing people."

In June, Cardiff council launched its Real Change campaign, which sought to discourage people from giving money to beggars who should be encouraged to access support to "get their lives back on track".

A spokesperson added: "While we recognise the individual circumstances which can lead to begging happening, our message to people who find themselves in these distressed circumstances, is please let us help you and please take up the services which are available."