Police swooped on the homeless, grabbing sleeping bags and food parcels donated by the public, in co-ordinated raids around the borough.

Adam Jaskowiak was one of the men targeted and said he pleaded with police to be able to keep his things but was ignored.

He was sleeping with eight other people finding shelter for the night in the former Ilford Baths in High Road, Ilford.

All of their belongings were bundled into a police car leaving the men, one in his 60s, stunned.

A police chief told the Recorder the operation was carried out to “reduce the negative impact of rough sleepers”.
http://www.ilfordrecorder.co.uk/news/crime-court/police_swoop_on_the_homeless_taking_sleeping_bags_and_food_parcels_in_co_ordinated_raids_in_redbridge_1_2206446

Presumably they’re just hoping that these folk will move on elsewhere?

they’re going to be sent to a special camp, just as soon as it’s devolved err, ready

scaredypants 😆

We’ll gladly have your vagrants, need something to burn when the oil runs out.

Seriously though, that’s disgraceful.

Edit:Put an e in that *disgracful*.

Someone’s bound to defend it.

It would be nice if we could reduce the negative impact of the police sometimes.

It would have been much better for the police to have turned up with a homeless charity and let them try and re home them.Seems very shortsighted by the senior officers.
We (the cops) now look like the bad guys taking food from homeless people, and the homeless charities are criticising us, when really it should be them dealing with the homeless, not us.
Mind you a lot of senior cops now don’t have the faintest idea of what it is to police .

Quartz
I would say in this instance we had a negative impact
In the terrorist attack, where the 2 terrorists were shot and detained we had a very positive impact.
Swings and roundabouts 🙂

HOW DARE THEY BE HOMELESS! BAN THIS FILTH!

That’s really sad, what’s more so is I have about 5 sleeping bags stuffed in various cupboards I don’t value them at all yet to someone else one could literally be a lifesaver.

I’m going to go donate the ones I don’t use to a shelter.

Edit.
But I live in Edinburgh, where the habitually-homeless seem to “disappear” for 2 months of the year.

Good stuff Pik n Mix, Bethany do a good job of collecting old coats ’round winter as well.

If I stole a sleeping bag from Blacks I’d be arrested.

Don’t tar us all with the same brush, neighbourhood police in the Ribble Valley spent a lot of time and effort recently trying to house/clothe/feed a male and female who were homeless and begging recently, and received criticism for not moving them on from many quarters. Criticism just goes with the territory i’m afraid

Please see his drinking/biking thread easygirl, think (hope) it was a brainfart.

Please tell me you are not saying that

Who are you talking to?

Insensitive fence-sitting brainfart.

As easygirl’s on the thread, what powers are used to take food away from people?

This seems revoltingly wrong, so I presume there’s something in a police and criminal justice act somewhere that makes it OK… 😐

As easygirl’s on the thread, what powers are used to take food away from people?

Headline: Ilford Police arrested for hit and run petty larceny!

‘One of the accused told our reporter “They made me do it, I’m just a scapegoat, its the Chief Constable’s you should be arresting, stitched me up like a kipper he has and no mistake’

I feel the same as BigDummy. According to the article :

“Adam Jaskowiak had his sleeping bag taken by Redbridge Police”

Which sounds like theft to me. I’m assuming that Adam Jaskowiak was the lawful owner of the sleeping bag.

Which sounds like theft to me. I’m assuming that Adam Jaskowiak was the lawful owner of the sleeping bag.

I imagine they were removing the trespassers and their possessions from the property (baths)? so shouldnt the blame be on the council (presume they would be owners of said property?)

the homeless charities are criticising us, when really it should be them dealing with the homeless, not us.

Bloody charities eh.

I imagine they were removing the trespassers and their possessions from the property (baths)?

surely just ask them to move on then, no need to take anything away from them, and what rights do the police have to do so anyway?

It is straightforward assault and theft the police have no lawful right to do this . But the government have removed the poor’s ability to fight such crimes by removing legal aid to fund such cases.

There is an offence of sleeping in the open air but to be guilty the police must first have provided you with the details of an available alternative and you must have declined to take it. Where I work the police did not bother with the technicalities and just arrested and sought to remand the homeless to prison.

WELCOME TO SANDFORD SIGN by Johns Car pictures and scans pages., on Flickr

Criticism just goes with the territory i’m afraid

Here the criticism just goes with the action taken, methinks.

Statement from the police commander

https://twitter.com/nearlylegal/status/338046426703613952/photo/1

Yeah, take their sleeping bags off them. Presumably they’ll all go and buy houses, won’t they? Kick start the economy… good plan there.

So according to Commander Sue Williams the local newspaper, the Salvation Army, and the Refugee and Migrant Forum of East London, are all not telling the truth ?

Well according to the Ilford Recorder :

Ilford Ch Insp John Fish said: “The public rely on police to reduce the negative impact of rough sleepers, this includes the need for us to assist in the removal of temporary structures, tents, and bedding from public spaces and other inappropriate locations.”

I would suggest that assisting in the removal of bedding sounds very much like removing sleeping bags, perhaps Commander Sue Williams should have a word with Ch Insp John Fish.

Not only is there something particularly distasteful about the allegation that the police are removing personal belongings from the destitute in our society, but bedding is something which even bailiffs with court orders can’t legally remove from owners.

BTW I have never felt the slightest need to complain to the police about rough sleepers, I wonder how much of the public relies on the police to do anything about them, as Ch Insp John Fish claims. I would expect the local authority, social services, etc, to deal with such problems.

Surely the officers in question had the ability to refuse to take part in such an act on the homeless?, and if so then why did they choose to commit such a repugnant act of brutality on the homeless, or are they going to claim the tired defence of “i was only following orders”.