Thousands of homeless people arrested under archaic Vagrancy Act

Campaigners’ anger as 1,173 held despite ministers’ pledge to scrap legislation

More than 1,000 homeless people have been arrested for sleeping rough or begging since the government pledged to scrap the nearly 200-year-old Vagrancy Act, new figures show.

Freedom of information responses from 29 police forces across England and Wales show officers have arrested 1,173 people since 2021 for offences under the archaic 19th-century act including “vagrant being found in or upon enclosed premises” and “begging and wandering around”.