New laws that ban begging and street drinking are set to take effect in Sheffield City Centre.
The new Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) will come into force on Monday, which aims to crack down on anti-social behaviour.
Councillor Kurtis Crossland, Chair of the Communities, Parks and Leisure Committee at Sheffield City Council, said: “Sheffield is one of the safest cities in the country and a PSPO would work towards keeping it that way.
“It’s about protecting people and stopping anti-social behaviour that might make anyone feel unsafe or insecure.”
Loitering, as well as public urination and drug use, will also face stricter enforcement in the city centre boundary.
Anyone who breaches the new laws may be fined up to £100 or receive a fixed penalty notice, and will not be able to enter the restricted area within 24 hours.
Dr David Hayes, a criminology academic from the University of Sheffield, said: “People who fail to obey the terms of the order may be fined, and on default of paying the fine, which of course many homeless people will be unable to pay, you can be sent to prison.
“The PSPO will fail to deal with this problem by further stigmatising and criminalising some of the city’s most vulnerable people.”
In a draft PSPO in January 2024, Sheffield City Council asked members of the public for their views.
Around two thirds of individuals and 87% of organisations said they agreed with the introduction of a PSPO, however, not all responses have been positive.
A spokesperson for the Archer Project, a homelessness charity in Sheffield, said: “The PSPO needs to be supportive rather than punitive, advocating for measures that help the poorest in the city rather than victimising them.
“The support being offered should be in line with the type of support people might get from good quality homelessness services, rather than focusing solely on the enforcement aspect of city centre life.”
The new laws make any verbal, non-verbal, and written requests for money illegal.
Dr Hayes said: “Many in the city’s homeless population, whether due to mental health issues, past traumas, or conspiratorial thinking, do not respond well to threatening authority figures like the police.
“So it seems to me that the order actually makes it harder to deal with the root causes of the anti-social behaviour it seeks to resolve.”