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Bill to combat aggressive panhandling put on fast track
(by Rebecca S. Rivas & Tim Woodcock - February 19, 2008)
Lyda Krewson, 28th Ward alderman, has introduced a bill that would crack down on aggressive panhandling in the city of St. Louis.
On Feb. 14 the bill got strong backing from the Public Safety Committee, with many of Krewson’s colleagues asking to sign on as co-sponsors. The following day it passed when given a hearing by the full Board of Alderman. The remaining step before it becomes law is for the mayor to sign it.
Board Bill 505 would make it illegal for panhandlers to touch a person they are requesting money from, block that person’s path or persist after a person says no. Asking for money after dark is outlawed entirely.
It would also be illegal to wash the windshield, guard a car or perform any other services to a vehicle without the owner’s consent.
The bill would also put limitations on how close people asking for money can come to ATMs, banks and restaurants with outdoor seating. “The reason we have so many panhandlers is because they make a lot of money, so they come back,” Krewson said.
In her presentation to the Public Safety Committee, Krewson used information from a Department of Justice report that said most panhandlers are not homeless and are not seeking regular employment. They often have criminal records, but often are victims of crime, too, she said. Police working in the Central West End have identified about ten regular panhandlers who work the neighborhood and they tend to fit this pattern.
Panhandlers make “rational economic decisions” and go to parts of the city that prove most lucrative and target people who are most responsive, she said.
Research shows that if a man is walking down the street as part of a couple he is more likely to give money than if he is alone, and panhandlers know this, she said. And young adults are more likely than any other group to give money, she said.
The Department of Justice study states that panhandlers can earn between $30 and $40 a day, but some may get as much as $300 a day.
Krewson also speculated that there might be other factors at play locally. The 63108 ZIP code — the one that covers most of the CWE — has a particularly high number of social-service agencies, which may explain why panhandling is worse in the neighborhood than elsewhere in the city, Krewson said.
The city already has an anti-panhandling law that was created in 1993. “This expands that,” she said.
The proposed new punishments for aggressive panhandling include a warning in the first instance; a second offense would earn community service of up to 30 days and/or a fine of between $50 and $500; subsequent offenses could earn jail time of up to 30 days.
Krewson said mandatory case management from a social services agency could also be part of the equation.
She said this is just one half of an initiative to limit panhandling. The Central West End Association is launching a public-awareness campaign called “Say No to Panhandling. Say Yes to Charities.” Other neighborhoods will likely follow suit.
Krewson said the CWEA will be installing three donation-collecting machines on McPherson, Laclede and Maryland avenues. The money will go to local charities, and panhandlers will be directed to their services. It has not been decided yet which charities will benefit from the money. In the neighborhood two churches, Trinity Episcopalian and Second Presbyterian, run soup kitchens, but otherwise most service providers are downtown.
“Folks who really want to help the needy can say they’re going to put money in the right place,” she said.
The collection points will be decommissioned parking meters, and, as such, will only accept coins. The CWEA has negotiated for three of these, but Tom Stoff of the treasurer’s office said more could be provided for sites elsewhere in the city if this approach proves to be a success.
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