Sweden: how effective is the begging permit?
Audio 02:28
In one year, 48 begging permits were sold in Eskilstuna.
(Illustrative image) Getty Images / coldsnowstorm
By: Frédéric Faux
6 min
In Eskilstuna, a small town in Sweden an hour from Stockholm, the mayor wanted to experiment by introducing a paid begging permit last summer.
One year later, what is the result?
Publicity
To have a first assessment of the implementation of this begging permit, a year later, you must first go ... to the police station.
This is indeed where beggars must apply for and seek their permits.
“
You have to come here, fill out a form, pay 325 crowns -
32 euros
- for a 1.5 m2 pitch.
You can then beg there for three months,
”explains Thomas Bergqvist, in charge of public security.
To find a beggar equipped with his license, in theory, nothing could be easier.
Just exit the police station and go to Eskilstuna pedestrian street.
“
The closest place is right there, near that entrance.
Just now there is no one on this site, but there are others further away, and also near the town hall,
”said the agent.
This is also where we find Adrian, who agrees to show his license, protected by an envelope.
"
Ah, the police permit.
There you have it, 320 crowns, for three months.
I earn 100 crowns a day, that's not a lot,
”says Adrian.
Limit the number of beggars
Eskilstuna mayor Jimmy Jansson created this permit not to drive beggars out of his town, but to limit their numbers, to start a debate, to offer a deadline to his entire families who live in cars or in the forest.
And he saw changes: “
Some of them tell us that now they feel more secure, because they know their rights, they have minimum contact with society.
But our main goal is that people no longer need to beg.
"
On the NGO side, however, we are more cautious.
We admit that the experience is interesting, brings a certain form of security.
But she wouldn't dissuade beggars from coming, on the contrary.
“
In Eskilstuna we have around 60 people begging in the street and coming from two villages in Romania,
” explains Tomas Lindros, director of the Stadsmission, a Christian organization that helps these beggars, in Eskilstuna.
“
They know the city, how to apply for the permit, where to sleep.
They are not less numerous, they just moved away from the city center, to be able to beg without a permit.
"
Mayor Jimmy Jannsson, however, has no regrets.
As a Social Democrat, he feels it is his duty to act, to try something, when so many others ignore this situation.
In one year, 48 begging permits were sold in Eskilstuna.
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Sweden
Poverty