studs/spikes to deter homeless people?

What a good idea! It is very annoying finding a tramp sleeping on your doorstep.

Instead, homeless people should be forcibly put into shelters and sleep there at night in saftey. This would be paid for by the Guardian and its moronic readers.

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Looks like a pretty stupid workaround to a badly designed doorway - if that space in the guardian photo had been bricked in when they designed the building it wouldn't have attracted rough sleepers in the first place and no one would have given a monkeys.

How is this even a story? Building design has incorporated elements of 'disciplinary architecture' for years. The Camden Bench, for example. Almost every council bench in the country has been designed to stop homeless people sleeping on them.

It's a good idea, I think, but nothing especially new. Only The Guardian could make it into a news story.

Sounds costly. I'm not sure the Guardian has enough readers to cover that cost. In fact on recent evidence I'm not convinced there are enough decent people left in this country to cover that cost.

They might become shelter dependents (imagine the shame, being dependent on having a roof over your head!) rather than pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. That's the last thing your type want, right? Also, shelters would have to be maintained at a loss by the government, horror of horrors.

The hypocrisy of the small-state right-winger... I suppose the thing that makes it justifiable despite your own principles is the word "forcibly"

Actually the vast majority of homeless people are already in shelters via the "no second night out" programme.

Sadly this originated to clear the streets in the run up to the Olympics, but it was successful on getting people off the streets, even if nothing else really happens.

Most cities in the UK don't even have recorded on the street homeless in the 10's never mind 100's. When you look at homeless figures the vast majority do have a roof over their head, usually a shelter, but still are technically homeless.

If the government is going to be tight-fisted and vindictive enough to force homeless people to sleep on the streets they should be forced to make bus stops and benches rough-sleeper-friendly. The results of their disgusting manipulations should be there for all to see. Why should they be able to hide the results of their incompetent or downright malevolent governance?

Sounds costly. I'm not sure the Guardian has enough readers to cover that cost. In fact on recent evidence I'm not convinced there are enough decent people left in this country to cover that cost.

They might become shelter dependents (imagine the shame, being dependent on having a roof over your head!) rather than pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. That's the last thing your type want, right? Also, shelters would have to be maintained at a loss by the government, horror of horrors.

The hypocrisy of the small-state right-winger... I suppose the thing that makes it justifiable despite your own principles is the word "forcibly"

Well they won't be dependent if they got a job. The shelters would be able to offer training and education, and within 6 months they would be paying for their own rented flat via the wages they would be earning. If the left actually spent voluntary money on this instead of buying champagne and the Guardian, maybe the problem would go away.

How is the government forcing anyone to do anything? The welfare state in this country is very generous and easily-accessible. I don't think the fact that the government doesn't actively chase down every vagrant and spoonfeed them a luxury lifestyle (paid for by someone else) makes it remotely malevolent.

THat is disgusting. As to whether Id want a homeless person sleeping my door way. No of course i wouldnt - but i sure as hell wouldnt put spikes down to stop them.

What would you do to stop them?

I already said it wouldnt happen where i am, there are no homeless where i live.

Why dont the residents call the police if they wont move on? Putting spikes down is just cruel. Many of those people just want somewhere to sleep out of the worst of the elements.

Yeah I saw that you said that - I just wondered what you would do anyway.

I guess having private security or calling the police is one option - though how long it would take the police to arrive just to get rid of a rough sleeper is another question.

Ultimately, the result is the same. The homeless person is prevented from staying there. It just seems that these studs have an image about them which people do not like.

If the gap had been bricked in, the floor angled or some other obstacle put in place, there would not be this hype (where are all the angry threads and news pieces about specially designed benches etc?) It is this which annoys me: most people don't seem to have an issue with people not wanting the homless living on their doorstep... but get all teary eyed when at a particular method of deterrent.

Que people moaning about a landowner's right to keep certain people off their land while the real debate over the issue of rough sleeping is never had.