Criminalisation of Poverty: A Study on Beggars in Dhaka City

Abstract

Begging is a cross cutting issue that has implications across many different
strategies including loneliness, antisocial behavior and crime. The objective o f the
research was to find out the Criminalisation process o f beggars and the nature of
their activities. The researcher used both qualitative and quantitative methods to
collect the data in Dhaka city. Respondents were administered a structured
questionnaire asking them about their socio economic background. Focus Group
Discussion and Case studies were conducted to explore their affiliation with criminal
activities and the process o f entering in this profession. SPSS was used to run
frequencies and examine descriptive statistics fo r all examined variables. Using the
data collected in January 2005 to May 2005, the researcher found that the beggars
were in a vicious circle o f crime, which was the result o f poverty.