A crackdown on London's homeless?

I have noticed in the past couple of weeks several of London's homeless people disappearing from their usual places or appearing in unusual ones. I have witnessed Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) moving homeless people on from their desired begging spots in Old Street and London Bridge. I saw what looked like the same homeless man who was moved from outside London Bridge station buckled down inside the station on a walkway between platforms.

So what's going on? Last week I was handed a leaflet by a PCSO encouraging me not to give money to beggars but to charities instead. The cynic in me thought about all the things I had seen in the past few weeks and did not conclude that the authorities had suddenly realised their responsibility to help those with the least in our society. My conclusion instead was that it was decided to clean up the more unsightly aspects of London's streets in the run-up to the Olympic games this summer.

It is incredibly sad that the influx of tourists and the prospect of intense international scrutiny are what it takes to bring the homeless of London into our spotlight. It also convinces me that this initiative, whatever it involves and whatever its purpose, will do nothing to help London's homeless and will instead do everything to make them feel marginalised and outsiders in their own city.

Rioting - terrifying for more than one reason

I write as riots are spreading across London - North, South and East. Where I live in Bermondsey all local shops have closed out of fear - even concrete belief - that it will spread here. Currently it has hit areas such as Tottenham, Enfield, Brixton, Walthamstow, Lewisham, and Peckham.


There are many worrying issues here. Firstly of course is the immediate threat of injury, death, theft, and so on. Secondly is the inevitable effect on community relations in the already most difficult parts of London.


A third issue that a lot of news reporters have picked up on is the role of social media - particularly BBM (BlackBerry Messaging) in spreading word about the riots and therefore making rioting easier. This is the downside to social media whose upside was evident in the 'Arab Spring'.


What is terrifying is that there are evidently a significant collection of young men (this is the demographic witnesses describe being involved for the most part) across London who are evidently require the slightest provocation to resort to mindless violence. What can be done to prevent this? I certainly have no good answers - but I cannot imagine that levels of youth unemployment help much. Certainly Boris Johnson's plans to cut police numbers during these tough economic times (to use Lord Sugar's phrase) do not seem a bright idea. While I would never argue that the blame for this trouble lays in anybody's hands but those who have perpetrated it. However, that does not mean that we cannot draw lessons from it - indeed we must do so.


Meanwhile I will be eating up leftovers in my cupboards for dinner tonight.