Begging coin cups 'seized as proceeds of crime'

Police in Melbourne's CBD are confiscating homeless beggars of their cash donations because they are deemed proceeds of crime, welfare workers say.

More than 200 people were charged with the offence of begging alms in Victoria last year, The Age reports.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment but most offenders charged in Melbourne reportedly are diverted to a program run by the Salvation Army, the local council and police.

Youth Projects chair Melanie Raymond told the newspaper one homeless man was forced on Christmas Eve last year to put his takings into a charity box.

"We think begging should be decriminalised because it's penalising people for being poor and hungry," she was quoted as saying.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said that while police do enforce begging laws she was not aware of any cases of cash seizures occurring.

Some homeless people said the beggars targeted by police were mostly those who harassed the public.