In Northern Ireland, a 200-year-old law criminalizing homelessness will be repealed, Justice Minister Naomi Long said, the Belfast Telegraph writes on May 20.
Although the vagrancy law has often been criticized, it has been in effect for 200 years, since 1824.
Speaking to the Assembly on Monday on behalf of her department, Naomi Long confirmed that work was underway to review this legislation, as well as the Irish Vagrancy Act 1847. Long said she intends to repeal this provision in the laws that apply to Northern Ireland under the current mandate.
“I don’t believe that homelessness itself should be punished and that the police should be the lead agency in combating it.said the Minister of Justice. — “There are a lot of people who need to interact with the homeless before they take down the police.”.
The Vagrancy Act 1824 was introduced in Britain due to the large number of beggars and unemployed people who flooded into England after the Napoleonic Wars. These were mostly former soldiers who were injured and could no longer work.
It is worth noting that in April the British government also took the initiative to repeal the vagrancy law. In exchange, the authorities plan to approve another bill that provides for even tougher measures to finally solve the problem of people sleeping on the streets.
According to statistics, the number of people in England who spent at least one night on the street in 2023 increased by 27 percent compared to 2022 and amounted to 3,898 people.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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