Allum was sentenced to six months last Monday (24/1)Cambridgeshire Police

by Jacob Freedland Follow Jacob Freedland on Twitter

This article is 3 years old

A homeless man who harassed students and residents for money has been jailed.

Jason Allum, 35, was sentenced to six months last Monday (24/1). He pleaded guilty to common assault, using threatening behaviour to cause alarm or distress and begging in a public place.

His last offence involved punching one woman, knocking another to the ground and hitting a man on the back when they refused to give him any money.

One student remembers Allum’s attack on the woman. He told Varsity: “I was walking up Castle St. when I saw Mr. Allum, panicked, running toward me. He stopped very briefly to ask me for money, but I declined as I had no change. He was in such a hurry; he didn’t even stop to pick up a hat he dropped. When I reached the top of the hill, I saw the woman who Mr. Allum had punched, winded and hunched over, clearly shocked and in pain. I and a few others waited for emergency services to arrive to help her but thankfully she recovered all ok by the time they arrived.

Is the city doing enough to help rough sleepers?

In 2018, a rough-sleeper gave birth to twins outside of Trinity College on Christmas eve (Juliette Guéron-Gabrielle writes). The episode epitomised inequality in Cambridge – recently revealed as the UK’s most unequal city.

House prices in Cambridge are among the highest in the country, according to the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning. The centre’s last report found that, in 2020, for every 1000 households in Cambridge, six were homeless and four were threatened with homelessness.

The city has made a variety of efforts to tackle homelessness, using both the law and welfare provision. Yet neither seem to have solved the problem.

In November, the police issued five injunctions to forbid rough-sleeping in the town-centre. According to city councillors, this was done to encourage rough-sleepers to engage with the city’s help mechanisms.

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The orders also aimed at making the town centre more secure, who according to police Sergeant Kevin Misik, helped alleviate the worries of some market stall owners.

However, the city council has made efforts to help rough-sleepers by providing welfare provisions.

Following the announcement of the March lockdown, the council announced plans to house every rough sleeper in Cambridge for the duration of the lockdown. Part of that plan involved housing rough sleepers in King’s College accommodation while students were away.

Allum was sentenced to a year in prison in March 2020 after he breached an order not to beg in Cambridge.

He had been given an ASBO (anti social behaviour order) in 2012 not to beg in the city centre, especially around cash machines. But between 20 February and 5 March 2020, he was caught breaching it six times near the Cambridge Science Park, St Andrew’s Street, Fitzroy Street and King’s Hedges Road.

According to Cambridgeshire Live, he also intimidated a vulnerable adult in Nuns Way, blocked a member of the public outside a shop in Chesterton Road and became abusive to members of the public outside Cambridge Regional College.

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City centre Sergeant Kevin Misik told Cambridgeshire Live: “Allum is a prolific, aggressive beggar operating in Cambridge city. He has subjected many innocent people to frenzied attacks because they’ve refused to hand over any money. His behaviour is often frightening and violent and the sentence reflects the seriousness of his actions.

“We’re working with businesses, Cambridge Business Against Crime and CCTV operators to ensure Cambridge city is a safe and pleasant place for people to visit.”

Eleanor Bacchus, from the Cambridge city neighbourhood team, stated: “We hope this [sentencing] will provide some respite for the people who have been affected by Allum’s behaviour. However, we recognise that this isn’t a long term solution and will continue to work with partner agencies to try and resolve some of the underlying problems that are driving this behaviour to prevent re-offending upon his release from prison.”

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