Walsall council leader claims organised begging is taking place

Councillor Gary Perry said 'organised' beggars are stationed at the junction of Lichfield Street near Walsall Arboretum, with commuters long since complaining about them.

Councillor Perry said while some beggars are genuine, the ones stationed at this junction have been witnessed doing a shift handover. 

He said they have places to live, and if any didn’t, they would be offered accommodation by the council’s street teams. 

Councillor Perry said: “Businesses, traders and residents are fearing the affects of organised begging. 

There are genuine cases within that, however, in certain locations, such as the junction by Walsall Arboretum, it’s organised and there’s a rota and people have witnessed the change over. 

“These individuals do have places to live and those who haven’t would be offered it anyway. They’re winding themselves in and out of the traffic.

“Sometimes they are threatening toward individuals who don’t want to donate. We are trying through relevant laws to have a public space court order banning the individuals.”

The leader of Walsall Council’s Labour party, councillor Matt Ward, said: “We’ve heard these kinds of comments before from previous leaders about tackling the beggars, but the problem has got worse.

" It isn’t just at the traffic lights, it’s down the high street, in the shop doorways. People should feel safe coming into Walsall but it’s simply not happening.”

A Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) is a court order that gives councils the power to impose restrictions in a specific public space to tackle anti-social behaviour. 

Councillor Perry said several PSPOs have been put in place this year, but getting one isn’t ‘straightforward’ and can take up to six months to secure. 

He said: “It’s not as straight forward as saying I want to do it now, then do it, you have to go through a process.]

" You have to outline a boundary which the individuals can operate outside of. These individuals are working outside of the boundary. It’s a very challenging issue.”

The leader called on members of the public to come forward with evidence to support the council in securing future court orders.