More than 12 times as many people are being arrested for begging in Croydon than four years ago, figures have revealed.

Arrests surged last year compared with 2011 and are on track to reach a record high this year, following a crackdown on begging and rough sleeping.

Just two people were arrested in 2011 for begging in a public place or persistent begging, which are illegal under the 191-year-old Vagrancy Act.

In the following three-and-a-quarter years, police made 91 arrests in Croydon, including 28 in 2013 and 25 last year, according to figures obtained by the Croydon Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act.

Seventy-six of those arrested were charged and taken to court. Thirteen were given cautions and two are still outstanding.

Chief Superintendent Andy Tarrant, Croydon police's borough commander, suggested those arrested should see it as "positive".

He said: "Anecdotally I think most of them have either got mental health or addiction issues, which unfortunately has made them homeless. 

"If someone is arrested they can potentially access services because they have been arrested. We can do drug-testing, for example, or we can refer them to alcohol services.

"There are a number of different services that operate out from the custody area, so actually being arrested could be the gateway into different services.

 "I don't think arrest should be seen as a relatively negative element, because ultimately I think it can be a positive."

Fourteen people were arrested for begging in the first three months of 2015, indicating the total detained this year could be the highest for a decade.

The number of people sleeping rough on Croydon's streets grew from four in autumn 2010 to 30 in October last year, according to Government estimates.

But Jad Adams, chairman of Croydon homelessness charity Nightwatch, doubted whether those arrested for begging were rough sleepers. 

He said: "It is questionable whether the people who are begging are actually homeless. It is possible that they are, but I think there is a closer correlation between drug use and begging than there is homelessness and begging.

"There is a relationship between begging and poverty - I'm not suggesting these people are rich and only pretending to be poor. But I've known an awful lot of homeless people and very few of them ever beg."

Nightwatch clashed with Croydon police in 2013 after then borough commander David Musker, said people used the charity's soup kitchen "in order to spend their money on alcohol rather than on food".

But Mr Adams said this week: "If people are bothering members of the public [by begging] then that's a public disorder offence and the police are quite right to carry out their duties."

In October 2013, the Metropolitan Police said it had joined forces with Croydon Council to "combat begging and rough sleeping".

It said officers would be "targeting those who commit such behaviour by concentrating on engaging, disrupting and deterring".

Although there is no specific offence of "rough sleeping, 11 people were arrested for "vagrancy" in Croydon last year.

Begging arrests in Croydon
2010: 8
2011: 2
2012: 24
2013: 28
2014: 25
2015 (first three months): 14