Policeman says magistrates are too lenient on the vagrants

When Sgt Mark Hurry arrived in Swindon with the job of leading the team which polices the town centre, he said one of his priorities was to make the town a safe and pleasant place for people to live and visit.

As part of this drive he wanted to rid the town centre of beggars whom he says damage its image, intimidate shoppers and make Swindon a generally unpleasant place.

He launched an initiative to arrest people begging on the streets in the town centre and in one operation in September, three arrests were made.

But Sgt Hurry is frustrated that after all the manpower that went in to catching the men, arresting them, and having them sent to court they escaped with what he describes as nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

Christopher Lyne, Timothy Murray and Simon Reed, were all arrested on September 21 before being bailed to appear at Swindon Magistrates Court.

Lyne has actually been arrested for begging three times since Sgt Hurry started his post in July this year, on July 20, September 21 and November 10. On the day of his court appearance he was kept in a prison cell until 4pm before being released with no further punishment.

Reed, who is in his 20s and was brought up in Regent Street, was fined £55 and given a 12 month conditional discharge.

And Murray, of no fixed abode, did not appear for his case in September. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Sgt Hurry says that after extensive preparation for the operation and a considerable amount of paperwork, it is disheart- ening to know that the beggars can be back on the streets within hours of their arrest.

He said: "It makes a laughing stock of the effort we put in on behalf of the public.

"The public have made their feelings clear about the issue of begging in the town.

"They tolerate it at best and most people find it a nuisance and intimidating.

When we arrest these people after putting a lot of time and effort and take this kind of positive action, it is disappointing that the importance we place on the problem is not reflected in the way it is dealt with in the courts."

Sgt Hurry believes that unless the courts start to treat people who are arrested for begging with a degree of seriousness which reflects the damage they do to the image of the town, then the problem will not be solved.

"The town leaders are talking about Swindon becoming a city and improving the town centre and making it an attractive place to come," he said.

"The fact is that the beggars who harass people in the town centre are not helping to portray the correct image if this is the kind of place Swindon wants to become.

"If shoppers heading into the town centre are continually asked for money by people in the streets, then they will simply not come here anymore. This is causing the stores to lose hundreds of pounds through lost business and it is doing nothing to help the image of the town.

"We understand that when someone comes before the court charged with begging, the magistrates have limitations within the law about the kind of sentences they are allowed to impose.

But until the sentences beggars receive start to reflect the severity of the problems they cause, then they will stay in Swindon."

Officials at Swindon Magistrates' Court declined to comment.