Dispersing homeless people fails to stop antisocial behaviour, finds study

Councils that use public space protection orders to levy £100 fines to control so-called antisocial behaviours simply see homeless people return. Photograph: Geoffrey Swaine/Rex/Shutterstock

Dispersing rough sleepers from town centres fails to stop so-called antisocial behaviour and wrongly criminalises homeless people, a study of 10 towns by criminologists has found.

Councils in England and Wales using public space protection orders (PSPOs) to levy £100 fines to control or ban behaviours such as drinking, pitching tents and sleeping in public simply see homeless people come back later, according to research by Sheffield Hallam University with recommendations for fairer treatment endorsed by Crisis, the homelessness charity.