Begging Sheffield city centre: Top cop outlines efforts to tackle issue

When asked to identify their top priorities when it comes to tackling crime in Sheffield, Star readers listed anti-social behaviour and begging in the city centre as issues of concern, with some calling for a larger police presence.

The Star asked senior officer, Superintendent Benn Kemp, to explain how the force plans to address such issues, and whether the public can expect to see more officers in patrol in the city centre.

He said: “The city centre of Sheffield, we recognised that we needed to increase the resources that were operating within that area, and approximately 10 months ago we doubled the size of the local policing team working within Sheffield city centre and those additional officers.

"That saw the creation of three teams, we changed the shift pattern of that team to ensure that we had officers out on beat at the right times making a positive impact in the city."

In relation to addressing issues arising from begging and anti-social behaviour, Supt Kemp said the force was really 'committed' to improving their response, and acknowledged they still have a 'range of work to go'.

"I know through the work we do with business, with partners within the city, that has led some tangible improvements and whilst we accept there is still a range of work to go, still a number of steps to take to continue that, we are committed to really improving our response as a partnership in Sheffield to the city centre to tackle some of the the challenges that we face around vagrancy, around begging, rough sleeping, anti-social behaviour and things like that.

"We're working really, really hard to address some of those challenges. We do know that the cost of living crisis is having a significant impact on the amount of rough sleepers that we’re seeing as a country and and that remains a challenge for us, but we’re working with organisations and charities that specialise in these areas, we're really trying to help move people from the streets into safe, secure accommodation and allow them to progress with rebuilding their life." 

“In our shopping centres, we have dedicated staff working at places like Meadowhall, working at The Moor and other locations in the city, providing a bespoke response, and you often see pop-up police stations providing crime prevention advice and other things."

Referring to Sheffield's night time economy, Supt Kemp said: "We've made a number of changes in the last 12 months which has brought more partners into that. We’re having more collaborative briefings, and you'll see increased visibility as we continue to move forward around our policing of Sheffield city centre. 

“I can reassure everyone it does remain a priority for us and we are committed to continuing to improve that, with more foot patrols, more visible controls and tackling some of the issues that are quite unique to the city centre."