This petition was submitted during the 2017 to 2019 Parliament
Rejected petition Revoke the 1824 Vagrancy Act
Rejected on
The 1824 Vagrancy Act means that people who sleep rough can be given a fine of up to £1000 a night, and given a two year criminal record.
There were 1,320 prosecutions in 2018, up 6% on the previous year.
We the public must make our voices heard. This terrible injustice must end. Now.
We all know rough sleeping in England has increased significantly. Figures between 2014 and 2018 put it at rising by 70%.
Laws like the vagrancy act mean that 73% of homeless people were criminalised last year.
Articles
www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/19/calls-for-195-year-old-vagrancy-act-scrapped-homeless
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/29/homeless-people-private-members-bill-vagrancy-act
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/11/homeless-people-rough-sleepers
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/264987
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.