Tag Archives: convictions

Squatting Stats 2015 version 2 released

Original report, “Squatting Statistics 2015” has been updated as Version 2.0 with additional information on:
1] Prosecutions & Convictions for section 144 & “Begging”: Analysis of Ministry of Justice Criminal Justice statistics, released 19 May 2016
2] Crime Related Incidents (CRI): Greater Manchester Police submitted information about “squatting” CRIs in 2015, providing useful background on Alternative Offences, and evidence of vulnerable adults & children squatting.

Squatting & Criminalisation in the Netherlands

On the 11th June 2016, ETC Dee gave a presentation at the DeCentre space in Whitechapel, entitled “Squatting in the Netherlands”. The talk looked at well-known squats & social centres, the 2010 law criminalising squatting and its impact, and finally a history of squatting in the Netherlands. Both the Netherlands and England&Wales have a long squatting history, and both recently had squatting criminalised by their respective right-wing governments. However, there are key differences too: all squatting was criminalised in Holland, and only residential in England&Wales; Holland criminalised squatting two years before England&Wales, and the Dutch government appears more inclined to imprison squatters.

“Homes, Not Jails” – SQUASH’s latest report

Squatting in England and Wales has become increasingly more difficult, unstable and uncertain over the last two and a half years, due in so small part to section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (s144 LASPOA) which came into force in September 2012. The new law criminalised squatting in empty residential premises, and made what was a civil matter into a criminal offence, meaning that the police and magistrates were now involved. Two years on, SQUASH has released its latest report “Homes, Not Jails” (April 2015), a 28-month review of the effects of s144 LASPOA using freedom of information data and case studies.