When is it "sleeping rough" and when is it vagrancy?
I have been brave enough to find a few spots to sleep outside so far. I found Calton Hill in Edinburgh, Scotland to be a nice place for the night. However, now that I am venturing into bigger cities (eg. London) I want to check with some people that what I am doing is okay.
Is it illegal to venture away from the busy streets and find a spot to sleep?
Joshua
Caldwell, ID USA 5/15/08
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It all depends on individual cops and individual situations.
One cop can walk past your sleeping form and another will run you in.
Once they find out that you’re not a UK citizen ( and so not eligible for legal aid ) it’s quite likely that you may find yourself up before The Beak in the morning. Obviously, once it is established that you have no means of accommodation, this will mean a strong chance of deportation. If that happens it will, inevitably, bring you to the attention of the US Embassy as they will be asked to fund the deportation of someone travelling on a US passport ( we don’t deport people free of charge ).
As I say it will all depend upon what mood a police officer is in, but if it’s discovered that you have enough funds to travel to this country in the first place but have not provided sufficient funds for accommodation or made any arrangements for accommodation, it could go a little harsh on you.
Its vagrancy period. Get a campground, hostel, hotel, or friend to put you up for the night.
During Octoberfest in Munich the police smiles at the many many young tourists that end up sleeping at the train station because they couldn't find accommodation. Any other day they'd be in trouble ...
Have you looked into couchsurfing.com yet? It beats having to sleep on a park bench and worrying about getting picked up by the police.