Working group proposal for amending the Public Order Act to ban begging

The working group considers that a ban on ‘professional’ and repeated begging in a public place for the purpose of making a living, the organisation of begging and unauthorised camping could make organised begging more difficult and prevent related negative phenomena.

The working group gave its final report to Minister of the Interior Anne Holmlund on Wednesday, 6 October.

Proposal to ban public begging and unauthorised camping through the Public Order Act

The working group considered the ban on begging from the perspective of the Public Order Act. Because the matter is not regulated by EU law or international agreements, Finland can make a decision to ban begging at national level while at the same time fully respecting fundamental rights. At present, EU countries such as Denmark, Austria, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg and Spain have legislation in place outlawing begging. In Ireland, the bill to ban begging is currently before parliament. The proposals put forward by the working group do not impede in any way the free movement of EU citizens.

The working group proposes that the Public Order Act ban ‘professional’ begging in a public place. Over the last two years, we have seen a considerable increase in begging particularly in the Greater Helsinki Area. Begging has also become more aggressive, involving more disruptive behaviour.

The working group states that the ban on begging would help to prevent activities that take advantage of people in a very vulnerable position. If steps are not taken to tackle various public disturbances and crimes, this may pave the way for different types of crime that are more widespread and severe, according to the working group. Moreover, the group considers that the begging ban would cut down the number of beggars coming to Finland and reduce organised and forced begging as well as activities related to human trafficking in Finland.

The working group further proposes that a separate ban on unauthorised camping be included in the Public Order Act. This would prevent the creation of unauthorised camps with poor structures and inadequate fire safety precautions, and prohibit camping in certain designated public places under all circumstances. At present, unauthorised camps house dozens of people, including children. These unauthorised camps cause fear among the public and disturbance in the neighbourhood.

Organised begging should be banned in the Criminal Code

The working group proposes that the Ministry of Justice criminalise organised begging in the Criminal Code. Organised begging (encouragement of begging, exploitation of persons engaged in begging, or tempting or coercing another person into begging) should be made punishable under Chapter 17 of the Criminal Code.

Aggravated organised begging would involve seeking considerable financial gain, committing an offence in a particularly deliberate manner, causing considerable suffering, and the object being a child younger than 18 years of age.

Criminal organisations take advantage of the vulnerable position of beggars. Criminalisation of organised begging would also have an impact on those who organise begging and gain financially from it. This would improve the status of beggars. As part of the proposed measures, the amendments to the Criminal Code could prevent organised begging which is based on the exploitation of people and provide the authorities with better tools to tackle the phenomenon.

The possible ban on organised begging would improve the status of beggars because sometimes begging activity involves financial exploitation of beggars. There have been some cases where beggars have been brought to Finland on an organised basis.

Improved identification of human trafficking victims needed

In the working group’s view, the authorities should be better able to identify victims of human trafficking. In 2009, only four cases of suspected human trafficking offences were brought to court. According to the working group, the small number is due to complicated provisions on human trafficking and overlapping statutory definitions. The Finnish police have not had any grounds to investigate suspected crimes relating to begging as human trafficking offences.

The working group also proposes cooperation with countries of origin of beggars to ensure that accurate information is available on the situation in Finland.

The working group was chaired by State Secretary Antti Pelttari and it had members from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Ministry of the Interior Police Department and Migration Department, City of Helsinki, and the Helsinki Police Department. The representatives of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health expressed dissenting opinions on the final report of the working group.

The final report of the working group can be found at www.intermin.fi/julkaisu/312010 (only in Finnish).

For further information, please contact Antti Pelttari, State Secretary, tel. +358 50 357 7194.