Share Your Views on Begging in Glasgow City Centre

Published: 9 May 2016

People who live, work, shop and socialise in Glasgow are being asked for their views on begging in the city centre.

Community Safety Glasgow (CSG) is asking people about their experiences of and reactions to beggars and their opinions on what should be done about the issue.

They are consulting the public and businesses as part of a wider project to create an up-to-date picture of the extent of the issue. The information provided will help shape future strategies to assist those involved in begging.

People are being asked how they react to beggars - for example, do they buy them food, give them money, check if they are OK or just walk past?

They are also asking people if they have experienced or witnessed aggressive begging or other problems such as antisocial behaviour related to begging and if so, did they report them to anyone?

CSG works with partners such as the Simon Community's RSVP team which provides an outreach service to homeless people on behalf of Glasgow City Council and gives them information on support services such as where they can access food, shelter and help them register for accommodation.

Staff are currently conducting on-street interviews with visitors to the city centre as part of the survey which is also available on-line.

A spokesman for Community Safety Glasgow said: "The results of the survey will help us build up a clear, up-to-date picture of the nature and extent of begging in the city centre, the type of people involved and the problems they have. It will also tell us how people feel about begging and offer them an opportunity to contribute their ideas on how it might be addressed."

People can contribute to the online survey until midnight on 20th May. 2016