Aggressive panhandling is a legal term for unlawful forms of public begging. Proponents of such legislation advocate placing limits on these activities. Some opponents believe statutes prohibiting aggressive panhandling are part of the "criminalization of homelessness" and argue that such laws are discriminatory or unevenly enforced.
In general, aggressive panhandling is a solicitation made in person for immediate donation of money or other gratuity. This may be done by vocal appeal (asking, requesting, coercing (badgering), sympathy appeals, harassment, threats, or demands) or by nonvocal appeal (usage of signs or other signals gestures, postures, children, animals, or props such as toys and musical instruments). It is a habitual manipulative, coercive, or intimidatory use of another individual's sympathy, fear, guilt, or insecurity for monetary gain.
Helen Hershkoff claims legal restrictions on panhandlers' activities are "unconstitutionally vague, overbroad and deprive the homeless of their right to free speech". [1]
Conversely, Roger Conner asserts that "Aggressive begging is not common panhandling. It is uncommon panhandling, a type of harassment bordering on extortion that is practiced by a minority of street people." [1]
The definition of aggressive panhandling is given by city and county ordinances as well as state statutes.
For example, according to the Bloomington, Indiana website, panhandling is "a growing social and public safety concern faced by cities of all sizes, including Bloomington. Many panhandlers passively ask for money or hold a sign. Others are much more aggressive, making noise, sometimes repeated demands and choose to solicit in places that are particularly intimidating such as near automated teller machines, in a restroom or near your car. This is considered aggressive panhandling and in Indiana it is against the law." [2]
Constitutional lawyers, including but not limited to the American Civil Liberties Union, have secured a series of court decisions confirming their view that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects activities which some local ordinances have attempted to proscribe as illegal panhandling. In response, many jurisdictions have responded by narrowing the definition of illegal panhandling. The generally accepted terminology is to denominate such activity as aggressive panhandling.
In 1991 and 1992, federal courts overturned New York and California state laws that made aggressive panhandling illegal. It was observed that "Groups and individuals all over the United States engage in highly public fundraising for all sorts of causes and charities."[ citation needed ]
Restrictions defining solicitation or panhandling as aggressive regard both manner and context. A typical ordinance is one from Longview, Washington:
9.23.030 Place of panhandling – Violation. It shall be unlawful for any person to panhandle when the person solicited is in any of the following places within the city limits of Longview, Washington:
- At any bus stop; or
- In any public transportation vehicle or facility; or
- In any vehicle on a street or on a driveway providing ingress or egress to a street where such driveway is open to the general public; or
- Within 50 feet of any automated teller machine (ATM); or
- On private property, unless the panhandler is in physical possession of written permission from the owner or lawful occupant thereof. (Ord. 3051 § 2, 2008).
9.23.040 Manner of panhandling – Violation. It shall be unlawful for any person to panhandle in any of the following manners:
- By intentionally coming within three feet of the person solicited, unless that person has indicated that he or she does wish to make a donation; or
- By intentionally obstructing the path of the person or vehicle of the person solicited; or
- By intentionally obstructing the passage through the entrance or exit of any building; or
- By soliciting anyone under the age of 16; or
- By following a person who walks away from the panhandler, if the panhandler’s conduct is intended to or is reasonably likely to intimidate the person being solicited into responding affirmatively to the solicitation; or
- By using profane or abusive language, either during the solicitation or following a refusal. (Ord. 3051 § 2, 2008). [3]
The province of Ontario introduced its Safe Streets Act in 1999 to restrict specific kinds of begging, particularly certain narrowly defined cases of "aggressive" or abusive panhandling. [4] In 2001 this law survived a court challenge under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. [5] The law was further upheld by the Court of Appeal for Ontario in January 2007. [6]
Solicitation of money on the street has been legal in Finland since at least 1987, when the Poor Law was invalidated. In 2003, the Public Order Act replaced any local government rules and completely decriminalized begging.
By law n° 2003-239 of 18 March 2003, "aggressive begging" (mendicité agressive), i. e. soliciting others to hand over of money, valuables or any property on a public thoroughfare in a group in an aggressive manner, or with the threat of a dangerous animal, is punished by up to six months' imprisonment and by a fine up to €3750. [7]
Since 2006, begging or panhandling is no longer a criminal offense in Norway. Annoying and aggressive begging may, under certain circumstances, be subject to provisions regarding refusal, removal, and expulsion as stipulated in section 7 of the Police Act, as well as various provisions in the Penal Code: disturbing the peace (§350), reckless behavior (§390a), coercion (§222), threats (§227), and fraud (§270). [8]
Code of petty offences in Article 58 § 2. Who begs in public in a pressing or fraudulently, shall be punishable by detention or restriction of liberty. [9]
Begging on street corners is illegal in South Africa although not enforced. [10]
Although begging is illegal, it does not carry a jail sentence/punishment under the Vagrancy Act of 1824. However, individual aggressive beggars may be subject to court injunction [11] and jail. [12]
In 2004, the city of Orlando, Florida passed an ordinance (Orlando Municipal Code section 43.86) requiring panhandlers to obtain a permit from the municipal police department. The ordinance further makes it a crime to panhandle in the commercial core of downtown Orlando, as well as within 50 feet of any bank or automated teller machine. It is also considered a crime in Orlando for panhandlers to make false or untrue statements, or to disguise themselves, to solicit money, and to use money obtained for a claim of a specific purpose (e.g. food or bus fare) to be spent on anything else (e.g. cigarettes or alcoholic beverages). This section was repealed in 2017. [13]
In Baltimore, Maryland, several non-profits have been working with the "squeegee kids" to get them off the streets instead of the police having to enforce the law and have the teens arrested. [14] [15]
Indecent exposure is the deliberate public exposure by a person of a portion of their body in a manner contrary to local standards of appropriate behavior. Laws and social attitudes regarding indecent exposure vary significantly in different countries. It ranges from outright prohibition of the exposure of any body parts other than the hands or face to prohibition of exposure of certain body parts, such as the genital area, buttocks or breasts.
Solicitation is the act of offering, or attempting to purchase, goods and/or services. Legal status may be specific to the time or place where it occurs. The crime of "solicitation to commit a crime" occurs when a person encourages, "solicits, requests, commands, importunes or otherwise attempts to cause" another person to attempt or commit a crime, with the purpose of thereby facilitating the attempt or commission of that crime.
A squeegee man or squeegee woman, squeegee kid (Canada), squeegee boy (Baltimore), squeegee punk (Montreal), squeegee merchant (London), squeegee guy or squeegee bandit is a person who, using a washcloth and squeegee, wipes windshields of cars stopped in traffic, in exchange for money.
Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions in the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan. Typically, "disorderly conduct" makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to "disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain areas. Many types of unruly conduct may fit the definition of disorderly conduct, as such statutes are often used as "catch-all" crimes. Police may use a disorderly conduct charge to keep the peace when people are behaving in a disruptive manner, but otherwise present no danger.
Begging is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public places such as transport routes, urban parks, and markets. Besides money, they may also ask for food, drink, cigarettes or other small items.
Loitering is the act of standing or waiting around idly without purpose in some public places.
The Safe Streets Act, 1999 (SSA) is a statute in the province of Ontario, Canada. The act prohibits aggressive solicitation of persons in certain public places. It also prohibits the disposal of "certain dangerous things" such as used condoms, hypodermic needles and broken glass in outdoor public places. It also amends the Highway Traffic Act to regulate certain activities on roadways. The act was enacted by the Progressive Conservative government of Mike Harris and received royal assent on December 14, 1999.
Knife legislation is defined as the body of statutory law or case law promulgated or enacted by a government or other governing jurisdiction that prohibits, criminalizes, or restricts the otherwise legal manufacture, importation, sale, transfer, possession, transport, or use of knives.
Current laws passed by the Parliament of Canada in 2014 make it illegal to purchase or advertise sexual services and illegal to live on the material benefits from sex work. The law officially enacted criminal penalties for "Purchasing sexual services and communicating in any place for that purpose."
Prostitution is not illegal in Sri Lanka, however, related activities such as soliciting, procuring, and brothels are outlawed. It is also illegal to traffic persons for prostitution, especially minors. Prostitution is not as widespread in Sri Lanka as in some neighbouring countries. It is estimated that there are 40,000 prostitutes in the country, and nearly half of them operate in Colombo.
Vagrancy is the condition of wandering homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants usually live in poverty and support themselves by travelling while engaging in begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporary work, or social security. Historically, vagrancy in Western societies was associated with petty crime, begging and lawlessness, and punishable by law with forced labor, military service, imprisonment, or confinement to dedicated labor houses.
From 1867 to 1974, various cities of the United States had unsightly beggar ordinances, retroactively named ugly laws. These laws targeted poor people and disabled people. For instance, in San Francisco a law of 1867 deemed it illegal for "any person, who is diseased, maimed, mutilated or deformed in any way, so as to be an unsightly or disgusting object, to expose himself or herself to public view." Exceptions to public exposure were acceptable only if the people were subjects of demonstration, to illustrate the separation of disabled from nondisabled and their need for reformation.
In historical English law, a sturdy beggar was a person who was fit and able to work, but begged or wandered for a living instead. The Statute of Cambridge 1388 was an early law which differentiated between sturdy beggars and the infirm poor. The Vagabonds and Beggars Act 1494 listed restrictions and punishments.
Coates v. City of Cincinnati, 402 U.S. 611 (1971), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that a local city ordinance that made it a criminal offense for three or more persons to assemble on a sidewalk and "annoy" any passersby was unconstitutionally vague. Dennis Coates participated in a protest along with four other unnamed students, all of whom were convicted of violating the city ordinance. Coates appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court, which upheld the conviction. However, this conviction was overturned in the divided United States Supreme Court decision. The Court found that the ordinance was unconstitutionally vague and violated the First Amendment freedom of assembly.
Begging is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation.
The history of prostitution in Canada is based on the fact that Canada inherited its criminal laws from England. The first recorded laws dealing with prostitution were in Nova Scotia in 1759, although as early as August 19, 1675 the Sovereign Council of New France convicted Catherine Guichelin, one of the King's Daughters, with leading a "life scandalous and dishonest to the public", declared her a prostitute and banished her from the walls of Quebec City under threat of the whip. Following Canadian Confederation, the laws were consolidated in the Criminal Code. These dealt principally with pimping, procuring, operating brothels and soliciting. Most amendments to date have dealt with the latter, originally classified as a vagrancy offence, this was amended to soliciting in 1972, and communicating in 1985. Since the Charter of Rights and Freedoms became law, the constitutionality of Canada's prostitution laws have been challenged on a number of occasions.
The passage of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 allowed for the provision of challenging the constitutionality of laws governing prostitution law in Canada in addition to interpretative case law. Other legal proceedings have dealt with ultra vires issues. In 2013, three provisions of the current law were overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada, with a twelve-month stay of effect. In June 2014, the Government introduced amending legislation in response.
According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, as of January 2017, there are an estimated 32,190 homeless individuals in Florida. Of this high number, 2,846 are family households, 2,019 are unaccompanied young adults, 2,817 are veterans, and an estimated 5,615 are individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. According to a January 2020 count, this figure was 27,487 on any given day, a decrease from previous years. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as of December 2022, the estimate for homeless individuals has dropped to 25,959, about 5% of the total U.S. population. This is in spite of fears that moratorium's on evictions ending could lead to an increase in the homeless population.
Homelessness in the United States has occurred to varying degrees across the country. The total number of homeless people in the United States fluctuates and constantly changes hence a comprehensive figure encompassing the entire nation is not issued since counts from independent shelter providers and statistics managed by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development vary greatly. Federal HUD counts hover annually at around 500,000 people. Point-in-time counts are also vague measures of homeless populations and are not a precise and definitive indicator for the total number of cases, which may differ in both directions up or down. The most recent figure for the year 2019 that was given was at 567,715 individuals across the country that have experienced homelessness at a point in time during this period.
The administration of laws and regulations relating to begging in the state of New York is largely performed by each of the 62 counties of the state. Many of the state of New York's largest cities have introduced laws in the last decade prohibiting 'aggressive begging' in some form. New York City Administrative Code §10-136, City of Buffalo Code §317, City of Rochester Code §44-4, and Albany Code §255-59 prohibit forms of 'aggressive begging' which can include, but is not limited to, conduct that is likely to cause a fear of bodily harm, physical contact, approaching or blocking motor vehicles, and being within a certain distance of banks and ATMs. Syracuse City General Ordinances §16-9 and §16-11 prohibit lewd solicitation and loitering. The city of Yonkers does not currently have any similar law. New York City also has bans on all begging within the subway system and in airports.
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