Wm. Gordon, Ohio (LOC) 
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(Title) The police figures are clear. And show that in 2009 the offense that has experienced unprecedented “explosion” in Western Greece was begging. Compared to 2008 begging noted in a single year, an increase which reached 266%! Of course, do not need statistics to confirm what we all see every day in traffic lights, intersections, sidewalks, squares, cafes or outside churches, supermarkets, department stores and banks in the city.
Begging as writes in the latest issue of the journal Agenda of Patras, “has many facets. From the father of 22 children who lived in the settlement of foreign Roma Dyme Coast and sent all his children epaitefoun as the helpless elderly resident who stands in a corner of the street Gounaris and tends to hand to passersby.
As police officers believe Achaia address the nature of begging in Patras has changed in recent years. Sometimes one came out on the street begging by the actual need. Usually a stranger in town residents, with a physical disability or elderly. Now everything suggests that begging has acquired the characteristics of a well presented business with a “Godfather” and “mafia”, with people buying and selling, extortion, violence and fabulous profits. While an own separate “category” is begging the case of addicts who stop in the street asking you a million on the pretext that they have no money to return home or that someone stole his wallet.
Children are the greatest victims of the company – begging. Begin to beg from the arms of their mothers, but more critical and more “productive” age is from 5-11 years. In this age group is easier to rally the compassion of people. But after that age are still in the “path” of selling flowers, a pen or paper tissues, but in fact epaitefontas. Also, the … constellation begging prominently are pregnant women and people with disabilities.
A small beggar who wanders from group to group in cafes starts early in the morning and not returning to “base” before the fall of light sun, when the market closes. Of course in the summer when people go out the ‘time’ stretched even until after midnight. “From our experience has shown that the average amount collected by a beggar in Patras starts from 30 euro and goes up to 100 euros per day. In periods of celebrations of the amount can reach 150 euros a day, “says the” Agenda “executive police management Achaia. Arrests are made daily. The arrested, usually foreigners, driven to the court where the penalties are 20 or 30 days to several months, they have xanasyllifthei for the same offense or has been shown that putting someone else in begging. The begging is illegal, under Articles 407 and 409 of the Penal Code. More severe is the penalty for anyone who incites another to beg, especially if they are minors, physically or mentally disabled or have physical or mental illness. The severe penalty to be imposed is six months imprisonment and a fine.
Zois Marinos
pinch TV
23-7-2010
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