1,410 beggars arrested in May — Anti-Vagrancy Department

AMMAN — The Social Development Ministry’s Anti-Vagrancy Department arrested 1,410 beggars during May 2021.

“Of the 1,410 vagrants who were arrested, 341 males and 351 females were over the age of 18,” according to a monthly report issued by the Anti-Vagrancy Department.

The number of juveniles caught reached 718, of which 431 were males and 287 were females, the report said, adding that 265 non-Jordanians were also among the arrested.

The number of beggars arrested in the Kingdom’s northern, central and southern regions stood at 787, 555 and 68, respectively.

In a statement made available to The Jordan Times on Thursday, the ministry's spokesperson Ashraf Khreis pointed out that “the ministry works actively to reduce the serious problem of begging”.

He noted that the ministry has intensified its campaigns that are carried out together with the Greater Amman Municipality and the Public Security Directorate, focusing on promoting community awareness of vagrancy and how it impacts society.

On Thursday, Hala Fada, a Jordanian citizen in her early 60s, told The Jordan Times that sometimes she handed over cash to street beggars not because she believed that they were in need of that money, but just so that they would not “annoy” her, while she waits for the traffic light to open.

Mohammad Saad, a young Jordanian, said: “Street begging has become a common sight in Jordan.” 

He added that most of the time people who hand over money do so because they are either pressured in a way or another or are not fully aware of the seriousness of the issue.

Sereen Alami, a young Jordanian, said that she always tries to help needy people even street beggars. 

“We can never fully know what they are really in need of, but giving away a small amount of money will not hurt us,” she said.

Despite multiple attempts by The Jordan Times, the ministry’s spokesperson was not available for comment.