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Make way for repressionLausanne tightens the screw against intrusive begging
As of this Wednesday, the Lausanne municipal police will sanction beggars who do not respect the law.
The Vaudoise criminal law, which entered into force on July 1, prohibits intrusive begging, aggressive, deceptive or unfair throughout the canton. It also prohibits any solicitation in a long list of sensitive places: bus stops, markets, terraces, shopping entrances or buildings, near schools, banks, distributors, medical establishments, museums or cinemas. The indicative distance selected is five meters around the entries.
From this Wednesday, Lausanne will strictly apply the new rules against certain forms of begging, “in order to guarantee public tranquility and preserve the attractiveness of the city center”.
From pedagogy to sanction
For a month and a half, the police concentrated on prevention, favoring dialogue with the persons concerned. Now, make way for repression: in the event of an offense, the police may require immediate judgment, identify the author and, in the event of a recurrence, report to the prefecture. The planned fines range from 50 to 100 francs. A multilingual leaflet recalls the rules to interested parties.
Traders involved
An information campaign is also launched with merchants and exhibitors, to specify the areas and times concerned and encourage “shared vigilance”. The municipality hopes that these measures, close to the old municipal regulation, will contribute to maintaining a public space “open to all” and to support economic life.
(fcc)
