BEGGING is a crime, and one of the most visible. The police are there to enforce the law. That is why the public expects them to arrest beggars - not because it "appeases" certain sections of the community, as Chief Superintendent John Lacy suggests.

Nevertheless, Ch Supt Lacy's wider point is worth exploring: is arresting beggars an effective long-term solution? As the problem is worsening, it would seem not.

That does not mean that beggars should be allowed to ply their trade without fear of police action.

Many residents and visitors are intimidated by beggars. Some are particularly aggressive. In the police's experience a significant number of beggars are "professionals", commuting to York from elsewhere because it is a tourist honey pot. The full weight of the law should be applied to these offenders.

By contrast, the genuinely hard-up and homeless deserve help.

It is a difficult balancing act. Ch Supt Lacy says that he is caught between two sets of people with regard to begging: the business community, which wants the beggars cleared from the streets, and the "caring agencies" who expect a more benevolent approach.

The answer, surely, is for all the parties to come together and thrash out a city-wide policy on begging.

We need a twin-pronged approach. The aggressive, professional beggars deserve to be arrested, penalised, and arrested again, until they get the message that York is not a soft touch and move out.

Those without a home, struggling in a drug-induced haze to feed and clothe themselves, should be offered the full support of the city's excellent social agencies to get back on their feet.

York police would play the pivotal role in making this work. Officers on the city centre beat learn to distinguish between the professional beggar and the more vulnerable street dweller. Their front-line skills would be crucial in adopting a truly effective anti-begging programme.

Updated: 10:44 Tuesday, June 17, 2003