Rejected petition Abolish the Vagrancy Act 1824

The Vagrancy Act 1824 is a pre Victorian piece of legislation which allows for the arrest of rough sleepers and beggars. This criminalizes homeless people with complex needs who need access to proper support, not a criminal charge and a fine/prison term for non-payment of these fines.

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The act is still in use by most police forces, with some such as Merseyside and West Midlands police forces arresting over one hundred people a year on vagrancy offenses. Many end up serving prison sentences for non-payment of fines. This means that as well as being cruel and inhumane the act is also a waste of money which could be redirected to support. (Court, police, prison costs and fines which will never be paid!)

http://www.thepavement.org.uk/stories.php?story=1028 (more info)

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.

You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/168967

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.

Date submitted 13 December 2016
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