83 municipalities impose restrictions on begging

BeggingBegging on the street in downtown Oslo.photo: Berit Roald / NTB scanpix
Every fifth Norwegian municipality has imposed restrictions on begging.  On the 15th of May, the municipality of Sola became the second municipality to impose a begging ban, after Lillesand, which introduced its ban in 2015. Ole Ueland, Sola’s mayor, said that aggressive begging had become a challenge.
Municipal reports show that in total,  83 municipalities  have imposed restrictions on begging. Notification duty is the most common limitation.
Six municipalities have introduced a notification obligation before anyone can beg within their boundaries. 68 municipalities have introduced the same restriction on collection of money.
In most municipalities, you must report to the police before you begin to either beg, or raise money for other purposes.
In Norway, begging was prohibited until 2006. In April 2014, Høyre (H), and Fremskrittspartiet (Frp) submitted a proposal to enable municipalities the opportunity to introduce local prohibitions.
The proposal was adopted in 2015. NRK’s  Brennpunkt documentary, ‘Lykkelandet’, reaffirmed the need to address the problem,  showing that a begging milieu also involves prostitution, crime, and drug sales.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today