| |
Pictured left to right: Cashmere Choice manager Rayhan Kadir, Sgt John Ericksen and Communnity Support Officer Francois Veisy |
‘No sleeping’ signs go up on Strand shopfronts
Police are backing the move despite homeless charities’ protests
SHOPKEEPERS in the Whitehall area are putting up ‘No sleeping’ signs in the latest move to discourage the homeless from using their doorways to bed down for the night.
The signs – produced by the Whitehall Safer Neighbourhood Team – aim to tackle the presence of the homeless in the area, which they see as adversely affecting both residents’ and traders’ quality of life.
Sergeant John Ericksen from the Whitehall Safer Neighbourhood Team hopes the scheme, launched two weeks ago, will bridge the legal grey area that surrounds moving on rough sleepers.
He said: “Often when officers try to move the sleepers on they say they’ve been given permission to sleep there by the owner, and there is no way of disproving that in the middle of the night.
“Since the doorway is private property we can only really use persuasion to move them on. These signs say ‘No one gave you permission to sleep here.’”
Sgt Ericksen added that the signs had attracted the interest of other police stations across the borough.
Rayhan Kadir, the manager of clothes shop Cashmere Choice in The Strand, complained that in the past she had had to clean up urine and climb over sleeping bodies to open up shop in the morning.
She said: “This is a big tourist area and I think that people sleeping rough damages the reputation of local businesses. I bought a sign two weeks ago, and we haven’t had anyone sleeping here since.”
But homeless charities have criticised the scheme, claiming it criminalises an already vulnerable social group and does not address the root of the problem.
Duncan Shrubsole, Director of Policy and Research at Crisis, said: “People who are sleeping rough are some of the most vulnerable people in our society. They need safe and secure accommodation and specialist support to help them overcome the issues they face and to rebuild their lives. Just moving people on will not achieve this.”
Sgt Ericksen admitted he could not guarantee every officer on the beat redirected the homeless people to a hostel or shelter that could provide for them. But he defended the scheme, pointing to an engraving on the lampposts along The Strand in which St Martin is depicted giving half of his soldier’s cloak to a beggar.
He said: “We are not trying to demonise the homeless. There have been positive connections with the homeless in this area for thousands of years. There are enough beds in London for these people, and this scheme will help get them there.” |
 |
| |
