Southampton woman banned from begging in Hampshire

A Southampton woman has been banned from begging in Hampshire for three years.

Yesterday, at Southampton Magistrates’ Court, Clare Munn, 45, of Ellwood Avenue, Southampton, was given a three year Criminal Behaviour Order.

The conditions of the order are that she is not allowed to beg anywhere within Hampshire in that time period.

The purpose of a Criminal Behaviour Order is to tackle the most serious and persistent offenders and stop them from committing further criminal offences and anti-social behaviour.

Breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.

In November 2021, at Southampton Magistrates’ Court, Munn was ordered to pay £100 in compensation for common assault of an emergency worker and was given a community order for wilful obstruction of a highway, begging in a public place and failing to comply with a Community Protection Notice.

This related to an incident in the early hours of 29 July last year, where Munn had stepped out in front of a car along Shirley High Street while trying to flag vehicles down for money, causing the driver to swerve to avoid her and almost colliding with another vehicle.

When she continued to try to flag cars down from the pavement, officers asked her to go home but she was later arrested. While being put in the back of the police van, she spat at one of the officers.

PCSO Jack Kemp said: “Despite the support she is receiving, Munn has continued to beg and negatively impact the community with her behaviour.

“We believe this order is not only in the community’s best interests but hers too.

“This result sends a message to local residents and business owners that we do not take antisocial behaviour lightly and will use every option available to us to make Southampton a nicer place to visit, live and work in.

“I’d also like to encourage people to report begging to us. These reports help us build an intelligence picture which help us apply for criminal behaviour orders.”