Vagrancy Act 1824
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| Long title | An Act for the punishment of idle and disorderly persons, rogues and vagabonds. |
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| Citation | 5 Geo. IV c. 83 |
| Territorial extent | England & Wales |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 21 June 1824 |
| Commencement | in force |
| Other legislation | |
| Relates to | Vagrancy Act 1935 Statute Law Revision Act 1950 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 |
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Status: Current legislation
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| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the Vagrancy Act 1824 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk | |
The Vagrancy Act 1824 (5 Geo. 4. c. 83) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that makes it an offence to sleep rough or beg. Anyone in England and Wales found to be homeless or to be trying to cadge subsistence money can be arrested.
Contemporary critics, including William Wilberforce, condemned the Act for being a catch-all offence because it did not consider the circumstances as to why an individual might be placed in such a predicament.
The law was enacted to deal with the increasing numbers of homeless and penniless urban poor in England and Wales following the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. Nine years after the Battle of Waterloo, the British Army and British Navy had undergone a massive reduction in size leaving large numbers of discharged military personnel without jobs or accommodation. Many were living rough on the streets or in makeshift camps. At the same time, a massive influx of economic migrants from Ireland and Scotland arrived in England, especially London, in search of work.
Politicians in the unreformed House of Commons became concerned parish constables were becoming ineffective in controlling these "vagrants". Furthermore, the medieval pass laws which gave itinerant travellers the permission of free movement through a given district - were considered to be no longer effective.
Punishment for the wide definition of vagrancy (including prostitution) was up to one month hard labour. The 1824 Act was amended several times, most notably by the Vagrancy Act 1838, which introduced a number of new public order offences that were deemed at the time to be likely to cause moral outrage. It contained the provision for the prosecution of "every Person wilfully exposing to view, in any Street... or public Place, any obscene Print, Picture, or other indecent Exhibition". The Vagrancy Act 1898 prohibited soliciting or importuning for immoral purposes. Originally intended as a measure against prostitution, in practice the legislation was almost solely used to convict men for gay sex. The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1912, which extended provisions of the 1824 Act to Scotland and Ireland, gave further protection to women and girls through the suppression of brothels.
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