Etymology of the elusive word "crew"
Like innumerable other etymologies, the twist in pedigree either stemmed from or was bolstered by Shakespeare's wordplay. Henry V utilized a pun via the meaning of 'a crew' as a group/crowd and 'accrue' as to gain. I can't see any solid evidence that the 'used in a bad sense' refers to anything but the reputation of sailors, and the beggars in question simply used it to mean 'crowd' or 'group'.