Chattanooga City Council members spent significant time and words in recent weeks on creating new rules regulating panhandling citywide, but they will go for naught if the rules – assuming they are approved on second reading this week – are not enforced.
Since Chattanooga Police Chief David Roddy asked the council to look into the matter in the first place, he has a vested interest, but the job won’t be easy.
Police, after all, can’t be everywhere and often are called out for more critical matters than streetside swindlers.
Hey, my man! Wonder if you can help me out? We were traveling through Chattanooga, and we got a flat tire. I’ve got a wife and a baby back there, and we need to get the tire fixed and get back on the road. Can you help me out?
Is the man really in a fix or just need a fix? The situations rarely allow time for extended discussions, the enumeration of area social service agencies and an examination of personal assets. And by the time the police might roll by on routine patrol – the accosted individual still shaky but glad no gun was pulled in the dark church parking lot – the panhandler has moved on.
The council’s new rules bar solicitation within 20 feet of an ATM or a bank with an ATM or near an open cafe without the owner’s permission; on high-speed or limited-access highways; entry and exit ramps; traffic medians; or routes, including bridges, where the posted speed limit is 35 or above.
While recognizing “free speech rules for all citizens,” they also bar “aggressive” panhandling in the city and any kind of panhandling in places of “personal privacy” or “heightened safety concerns.”
Violators can be cited to court, where a judge could impose a fine of up to $50. Repeat violators could be given injunctions, and aggressive panhandlers could be charged under a state law that carries a 30-day jail sentence.
Should the rules be implemented, we hope adequate training will be given police officers in handling individual situations. How will they determine if the panhandler is truly needy or someone with a little time trying to pick up some easy bucks? Is a request to “move along” proper for a first instance, or should a citation immediately be given? If “move along” is the first option, how many “move alongs” should be tolerated before a citation is issued? What social service options should be presented?
Frankly, we believe police will be loathe to cite a string of vagrants to court. The officers, after all, might have to be there for hearings, making long days even longer for overworked professionals about such a relatively minor issue. And if the panhandler is truly destitute, what good will it do a judge to levy a fine that can’t be paid?
Plus, we can’t conceive of local judges imposing one 30-day jail sentence after another on individuals found guilty of aggressive panhandling.
All that said, panhandling was an issue that needed addressing. It’s not only a problem for tourists who want to bring their families to the city without being accosted but also for residents who want to go about their business without being hustled.
If, as has been stated by supporters, the new rules cause people who are truly in need to be connected to social service agencies, the rules are serving a higher purpose.
The new rules were approved 7-1 by the council on first reading, with Chairman Jerry Mitchell voting “no” and Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod not voting.
Later in the meeting, Coonrod held up a piece of paper with the words “will work for food.” She said she could be – as anyone else – one paycheck away from being out on the street and holding up a similar sign.
“A lot of times I think we don’t think about that,” she said.
If Coonrod felt panhandling is the first line of offense after losing a job and the potential of police linking individuals with social services is not a good thing, we’re curious why she didn’t vote “no.”
But the councilwoman, a former incarcerated felon, is an example of someone who didn’t wallow in pity at her woes but served her time, was released, found work and earned back her right to vote.
Nonetheless, we hope if the panhandling rules pass a second reading that proper training is given and that the rules are enforced evenly, and not just punitively, across the city and that they, in turn, make Chattanooga an even more desirable place to work, visit and live.