Residents take note of uptick in vagrancy, panhandling

AMMAN — The Ministry of Social Development handled over 11,000 cases of vagrancy nationwide in 2022, according to official figures. 

In 2021, the ministry handled almost 14,000 cases of vagrancy, the majority of which involved juveniles. 

The total number of cases for the years 2019 and 2020 combined numbered less than 10,000, according to statistics from the ministry.

Residents have also noticed this uptick in vagrancy around the country. 

“On my way to work every morning, I come across children selling different products at the traffic light,” Jordanian citizen Haya Masri told The Jordan Times.

Panhandlers are getting more creative; they are diversifying their product offerings, Masri said.

Ministry of Social Development Spokesperson Ashraf Khreis told The Jordan Times on Monday that “the ministry works actively to reduce the serious problem of begging,” and that work is ongoing to combat issues affecting the most vulnerable groups in society, including vagrancy.

According to Khreis, begging or vagrancy is in many cases a “profession”. 

Meanwhile, citizens have reported many cases of children roaming around the streets with no jackets or weather-appropriate clothing in this “freezing” weather, either begging for money or selling products at traffic lights. 

“This is one form of vagrancy; we have seen it in many shapes and forms,” Khreis noted. 

“I believe we should never give beggars money, going home with money every day will encourage offenders to send their little ones to bring home more money,” Amman resident Salma Jallad said in a social media post.

According to the ministry’s website, there is a hotline available to anyone to report cases of vagrancy or begging (079-8518274).