Street Begging – Portswood Broadway: aggressive and passive begging

A Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) controls street drinking, aggressive begging and drug and psychoactive substance use in Portswood Broadway. See the full Order in the link below.

https://www.southampton.gov.uk/media/2pil3mdd/portswood-pspo-dec-2025-30012026.pdf

With ‘aggressive begging’, the PSPO defines this as: “Loitering or begging in a manner that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm, distress, nuisance or annoyance to any person”.

One of our Members wrote to Community Safety to ask whether ‘passive’ begging was allowed. For information, below is what they said:

“If the individuals are passively begging and there is no associated antisocial behaviour, harassment, intimidation, or criminal activity, this would not generally be considered a matter for enforcement by the Police or Community Safety.

We recognise that people begging may be experiencing a range of complex issues, including homelessness, financial hardship, mental health concerns, or substance misuse.

If you become concerned about an individual’s welfare, you can report this to Street Support Southampton or other local support agencies who may be able to engage with the person and offer assistance.

Should the behaviour escalate to include harassment, aggressive begging, threatening behaviour, or other forms of antisocial behaviour, please report this to Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary via 101, or 999 in an emergency.”