Police get tough on begging in Birmingham city centre...

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Police in Birmingham city centre are getting tough on begging with the help of five-and-a-half thousand pounds of funding from the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The cash is being pumped into an initiative which gives people an opportunity to get off the streets before they face the prospect of arrest and an appearance in court.

Called Operation Engage, it has been running since March in response to public perception surveys which highlight begging as the biggest issue for people who visit, work or live in the city centre.

Officers in plain-clothes are carrying out dedicated patrols to identify offenders who are then referred to the nearby Swanswell charity which can assist in getting them get back on their feet.

But if a person refuses to get help and continues to beg, they face the prospect of being arrested and dealt with through the criminal justice system instead.

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Coventry beggar banned from sitting on the pavement

A persistent beggar has been handed a court order banning him from sitting on any pavement in Coventry or speaking to people he doesn’t know.

David Dyke was handed the two-year Criminal Behaviour Order – known as a CRIMBO – by magistrates in Coventry.

He is also banned from entering the city centre unless he has an appointment with a handful of agencies or wants to catch a bus from Pool Meadow Bus Station.

The 33-year-old, who gave his address in court as Patterdale House hostel in Binley Road, Stoke, was handed the order after he was caught begging in Market Way on December 30.

Just eight days after it was granted on February 16 Dyke had breached the CRIMBO three times.

On February 18, just two days after he was in court, he was spotted on the pavement outside Domino’s Pizza asking for change.

Then on February 24 he was seen in the Tesco Express in Market Way and in Little Park Street before he was spotted lying in an alleyway off Salt Lane.

He was back in court on February 25 when he was fined a total of £100 and ordered to pay a £20 victim surcharge for breaching the order.

Dyke is one of a number of beggars who have found themselves in Coventry Magistrates Court in the past few months – with many being hit by big fines.

Neil Wilson, aged 43, was fined £400 after he was caught begging in the Barracks car park twice in January.

Jason Needham, aged 38, was fined £200 for begging in the subway off Warwick Road in December and Janusz Wiankowski, aged 43, was fined £260 and ordered to pay £80 costs after he was caught begging in Cox Street car park last summer.

All three were of no fixed address and didn’t turn up to court.

During one court hearing a defendant accused of begging gave his address as a city centre subway.

In the last 18 months city centre police have taken more than 50 people to court for begging – with one receiving a 26-week prison sentence for repeatedly breaching a criminal anti-social behaviour order.

Police say they are working with partner agencies like the Salvation Army and Recovery Partnership to try and turn beggars’ lives around.

At the moment officers are applying for CRIMBOs to be handed to another four nuisance beggars.

Mike Fowler, chief executive of Coventry Cyrenians, who help homeless, vulnerable or disadvantaged people in Coventry, said: “We have done street surveys in the past and I remember on one occasion we spoke to all the beggars in Coventry.

“None were homeless. What we have found is that many people do not beg because they are homeless, they beg to feed an addiction.

“I’m not sure whether you would rather these people were sitting on the streets begging or shoplifting or robbing people.

“It’s a very fine line. I’m not sure if the way the courts are addressing the problem is the right way if they are handing out big fines.”

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Beggar jailed for breaking ban from sitting on any pavements in Coventry



A prolific beggar who was banned from sitting on any pavement in Coventry has breached the court order and is now behind bars.

David Dyke is currently serving an eight-week prison sentence after breaching a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order – known as a CRIMBO – handed down by magistrates in Coventry.

The order also banned the 34-year-old from speaking to people he doesn’t know, entering the city centre unless he has an appointment with a handful of agencies or wants to catch a bus from Pool Meadow Bus Station.

Dyke was given the order in February last year after he was caught begging in Market Way on December 30, 2014.

However, he breached the CRIMBO three times within the first eight days and subsequent breaches have seen him sent to prison.

Dyke has also been handed a second court order, this time by Birmingham Magistrates Court, which restricts him from begging in Birmingham city centre and siting, crouching or lying on the pavement or floor.

He is also banned from being in possession of the Big Issue magazine or offering any magazine for sale as the Big Issue, and is banned from all public and private car parks in Birmingham until February 15, 2017.