Hundreds of homeless people fined and imprisoned in England and Wales
數百名無家可歸者被罰款並監禁在英格蘭和威爾士
The Guardian finds over 50 local authorities with PSPOs in place prohibiting begging and loitering.
《衛報》發現了50多家當地政府執行公共空間保護令，禁止乞討、遊蕩。
Homeless people are banned from town centres, routinely fined hundreds of pounds and jailed if caught repeatedly asking for money in some cases Photograph: Alamy
無家可歸的人禁止在市中心居住，他們經常被處以數百英鎊的罰款，如果在某些情況下被抓，他們會被判入獄。
Growing numbers of vulnerable homeless people are being fined, given criminal convictions and even imprisoned for begging and rough sleeping, the Guardian can reveal.
據《衛報》報道，越來越多的弱勢無家可歸者被罰款、被判有罪，甚至因乞討和露宿被判入獄。
Despite updated Home Office guidance at the start of the year, which instructs councils not to target people for being homeless and sleeping rough, the Guardian has found over 50 local authorities with public space protection orders (PSPOs) in place
儘管今年年初，內政部更新了指導方針，指示議會不要針對無家可歸和露宿街頭的人。但《衛報》已經發現超過50個地方政府執行公共空間保護令。
Homeless people are banned from town centres, routinely fined hundreds of pounds and sent to prison if caught repeatedly asking for money in some cases. Local authorities in England and Wales have issued hundreds of fixed-penalty notices and pursued criminal convictions for “begging”, “persistent and aggressive begging” and “loitering” since they were given strengthened powers to combat antisocial behaviour in 2014 by then home secretary,Theresa May.
無家可歸的人禁止在市中心居住，他們經常被處以數百英鎊的罰款，如果在某些情況下反覆賠償，就會送進監獄。英格蘭和威爾士地方當局已經發布了數百份固定罰款通知，並對“乞討”、“持續的、有攻擊性的乞討”和“遊手好閒”進行了刑事定罪。2014年，當時的內政大臣特蕾莎·梅賦予他們更大的權力，以打擊反社會行為。
Cases include a man jailed for four months for breaching a criminal behaviour order (CBO) in Gloucester for begging – about which the judge admitted “I will be sending a man to prison for asking for food when he was hungry” – and a man fined £105 after a child dropped £2 in his sleeping bag.
案例包括一名男子因在格洛斯特乞討違反了犯罪行為條例，而被判入獄四個月，還有法官承認“將因飢餓而乞討的人關進監獄”，還有一個人因一名兒童掉了£2在他的睡袋而罰款£105。
Data obtained by the Guardian through freedom of information found that at least 51 people have been convicted of breaching a PSPO for begging or loitering and failing to pay the fine since 2014, receiving CBOs in some cases and fines up to £1,100. Hundreds of fixed-penalty notices have been issued.
《衛報》通過信息自由獲得的數據發現，自2014年以來，至少51人因乞討或者閒逛或者沒有支付罰款而被控違反公共空間保護令 ,在某些情況下,罰款高達£1100。現已發佈數以百計的定額罰款通知。
Lawyers, charities and campaigners described the findings as “grotesque inhumanity”, saying disadvantaged groups were fined for being poor. They said civil powers were being used by overzealous councils who wanted to sweep inconveniences off their streets and sanitise town centres.
律師、慈善機構以及活動人士稱這些行為“極其荒唐且不人道”，弱勢群體竟然因貧窮而被罰款。他們說，那些過於熱心的委員會正在使用民事權力，他們希望清除街道上的不便，並對市中心進行消毒。
Councils use a range of tools to crackdown on begging, but PSPOs are the most popular. Breaching a PSPO can lead to a £100 fixed-penalty notice, but offenders face a summary conviction, sometimes a criminal behaviour order (CBO) banning an individual for future begging and a fine of up to £1,000 if they fail to pay. Violating a CBO can result in five years in prison.
委員會使用一系列的手段打擊乞討，公共空間保護令是首選。違反公共空間保護令會導致£100定額的罰款通知書,罪犯者面臨一個簡易程序定罪, 如果他們不支付，有時犯罪行為條例會禁止個人繼續乞討或者要求繳納高達£1000的罰款。違反犯罪行為條例可能會導致5年的牢獄之災。
Rosie Brighouse, a lawyer for Liberty, said: “We warned from the start that PSPOs were far too broad and ripe for misuse by over-zealous councils wanting to sweep inconveniences off their streets. Now we see dozens of local authorities using them to target marginalised groups and fine people for being poor.”
自由律師Rosie Brighouse說:“我們從一開始就警告公共空間保護令太過寬泛，不能被過於熱心的委員會濫用來清除街道上的不便。”現在我們看到幾十個地方當局利用他們來打擊被邊緣化的群體和窮人。
Campaigners say bans on drinking alcohol and swearing in town centres are also being used to target homeless people, but councils insist PSPOs are only being used to target antisocial behaviour, not homelessness and rough sleeping. In a few cases, people who are not homeless have been prosecuted for begging.
活動人士說，禁止在市中心飲酒和咒罵的禁令也針對無家可歸的人，但議會堅稱，公共空間保護令只針對反社會行為，而不是無家可歸以及露宿街頭者。在少數情況下，非無家可歸者也會因乞討而被起訴。
Brighouse added: “This approach just pushes people into debt or the criminal justice system.”
Brighouse補充說:“這種做法只會將人們推向債務或刑事司法系統。”
May introduced PSPOs in 2014 to restrict how a particular area could be used.
特蕾莎梅在2014年引入公共空間保護令以限制某些特定區域。
In December 2017, then home secretary Amber Rudd told councils not to misuse antisocial behaviour laws by targeting homeless people. New guidance says PSPOs “should not be used to target people based solely on the fact that someone is homeless or rough sleeping, as this in itself is unlikely to mean that such behaviour is having an unreasonably detrimental effect on the community’s quality of life which justifies the restrictions imposed”.
在2017年12月，內政大臣安布爾·拉德告訴議會，不要濫用反社會行為法，並將矛頭指向無家可歸的人。新指南說公共空間保護令“不應僅僅針對無家可歸或露宿街頭者，因為這本身不可能意味著這種行為對社區的生活質量產生了不合理的有害影響，這也證明了強加的限制是合理的”。
Some charities have called on the government to scrap PSPOs entirely, arguing they are an example of abuse of power and do not help take people off the streets, but push them further into debt and the criminal justice system.
一些慈善機構呼籲政府徹底廢棄公共空間保護令，稱這是在濫用權力，並不能幫助人們脫離街頭，而是將他們進一步推入債務和刑事司法系統。
Josie Appleton, director of the Manifesto Club campaign against hyper-regulation of everyday life said: “It’s a travesty that people who most need our help are being treated like they arescum ... how do you treat the poor? The fact they are being seen as a messy thing is grotesque inhumanity and lots of places with these orders in place have faced huge public outcry to the orders.”
宣言俱樂部反對日常生活過度監管活動的主任喬西·阿普爾頓說：“最需要我們幫助的人得到了像他們一樣的待遇，這是一種諷刺，你如何對待窮人？ 將其視為一群擾亂秩序的人是極其荒謬且不人道的行為，許多實施這些命令的地方已經面臨公眾的強烈抗議。“
She added: “It’s this kind of very harsh officious mentality ... it’s not to do with representing people but airbrushing things.”
她補充說:“這是一種非常殘酷的官方心態……”它不是代表人們，而是用為了粉飾某些東西。”
The impact on homeless people, Appleton said, includes them being run out of town or if they reoffend they face imprisonment, making it harder to get back on their feet and find work.
阿普爾頓說，對無家可歸者的影響包括他們被趕出城鎮，或者如果他們再次犯罪，他們將面臨牢獄之災，這使得他們很難重新站起來找工作。
When contacted by the Guardian, a Home Office spokesperson said: “We are clear that PSPOs should be used proportionately to tackle antisocial behaviour, and not to target specific groups or the most vulnerable in our communities. We set this out clearly when in December last year we refreshed the statutory guidance for frontline professionals on the use of the antisocial behaviour powers.
當衛報聯繫內政部發言人時，一位內政部發言人表示：“我們很清楚，公共空間保護令應該按比例解決反社會行為，而不是針對特定群體或我們社區中最脆弱的群體。 我們在去年12月清楚地闡明瞭這一點，我們更新了關於使用反社會行為權力的前線專業人員的法定指導。
“It is for local agencies to determine whether their use of the powers is appropriate, and that they are meeting the legal tests set out in the legislation. The government is committed to tackling and reducing homelessness and to offer support to the most vulnerable in our society.”
“地方機構要確定他們是否適用權力，是否符合立法中規定的法律測試。 政府致力於解決和減少無家可歸，併為社會上最弱勢群體提供支持。”
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