Amsterdam to stop fining homeless people for sleeping on city streets

Amsterdam to stop fining homeless people for sleeping on the streets in Amsterdam
Homeless people sleeping on the streets of Amsterdam will no longer be fined for doing so. The city’s mayor, Femke Halsema, wrote in a letter to the city council that she plans to stop the fines with immediate effect because, according to her, it "doesn't actually help.”

The fines have not led to a drop in homeless people sleeping on the streets, Halsema said. It also puts them further into financial problems, which leads to unpaid fines and irrecoverable costs for the municipality as they have to send reminders and increase the fines.

“The measure has therefore missed its target,” said the mayor. The municipality was already hesitant to issue fines to this group of people, but it emerged that penalties were regularly handed out even when those involved were not causing a disturbance.

The majority of homeless people sleeping in doorways leave voluntarily when asked. If it does become a nuisance, the police can refer the person in question to a care institution. The Amsterdam branch of municipal health service GGD can take care of those who persistently avoid the care system, and those who cause more disruptions than others.

The basis for fining those sleeping outdoors has been removed from the set of municipal regulations. But it is not yet clear whether the municipality can still take action against tourists who sleep in their cars. That is still being investigated.

The subject is also an issue in other cities. The Utrecht street newspaper St Maarten announced on Thursday that it would start paying fines for homeless people ticketed for sleeping outdoors. The municipality of Leiden said at the beginning of May that it would no longer issue such fines for the rest of the year.

In mid-May, the Rotterdam City Council expressed its dissatisfaction that fines were still being issued. This despite a pledge to stop the practice from the alderman handling the issue.