Aggressive panhandling is a legal term designating those forms of public solicitation which have been designated as unlawful. Proponents of such legislation include both liberal and conservative commentators who concur on the advisability of placing limits on these activities; opponents lament the continuation of the "criminalization of homelessness" and argue that such laws discriminate and are unevenly enforced.

Conflicting definitions of panhandling per se

Different towns and cities define panhandling differently. Crystal Lake City, Illinois, USA defines it thusly:

PANHANDLING—Any solicitation made in person upon any street, public place or park in the City, in which a person requests an immediate donation of money or other gratuity from another person, and includes, but is not limited to, seeking donations:
By vocal appeal ...[but] not [to] include the act of passively standing or sitting or performing music, singing or other street performance with a sign or other indication that a donation is being sought, without any vocal request other than in response to an inquiry.

By contrast, Kalamazoo, Michigan includes such "passive" use of signage states that

SOLICITING—Asking for money or objects of value, with the intention that the money or object be transferred at that time, and at that place. "Soliciting" shall include using the spoken, written, or printed word, bodily gestures, signs, or other means with the purpose of obtaining an immediate donation of money or other thing of value or soliciting the sale of goods or services.
[Emphasis added].

Panhandling is viewed on a spectrum

Panhandling is a term which may have negative connotations but which can apply to any request for a loan or gift under circumstances in which it might not be inappropriate. For instance, if one is short just a small fraction of a fee or fare, does not have small bills, or has only credit cards in a situation in which cash only is accepted. In many cultures and civilizations, "begging" is considered an acceptable and honorable alternative to work when it is due to necessity or religious abstention from economic activity. A sympathetic view of panhandling is exemplified in the depression-era song "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?", also sung as "Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?", is one of the best-known American songs of the Great Depression. Written in 1931 by lyricist E. Y. "Yip" Harburg and composer Jay Gorney, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" was part of the 1932 musical New Americana; the...

".
The song has been called "the anthem" of the era.
The song written by an immigrant living on New York's Lower East Side, continues to be popular
and has been re-released on CD.

Aggressive panhandling as a social problem

Nevertheless, panhandlers can be regarded in a negative light. For instance, one self-described liberal-minded blogger wrote that "panhandling, while it serves as a glaring reminder of social inequality, detracts from one’s city experience."

Others contend that panhandlers are legitimately expressing their need and constrictions on their activity are "unconstitutionally
vague, overbroad and deprive the homeless of their right to free speechviews on the inadequacy of the social net and as such cannot be legitimately "silenced". On the other side of the spectrum of viewpoints, it is asserted 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."

Thus many jurisdictions have found it desirable to sanction forms of panhandling which are deemed as undesirable due to negative environmental impacts. In such cases, the government entities forge a means of detering undesirable forms of public solicitation while permitting such activities as busking

Busking

Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...

.

Cited by locality as against state law

A paramount example is provided by the City of Bloomington, Indiana, according to which:

"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 loud, sometime repeated demands and some panhandlers choose to solicit in places that are particularly intimidating such as near automated teller machine

Automated teller machine

An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...

s, in a restroom or near your car. This is considered aggressive panhandling and in Indiana is against the law."

Constitutional challenges

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.

Back to the drawing board: courts throw out "aggressive" panhandling ordinances

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."

Aggressive panhandling as law

The definition of so called "Aggressive panhandling" is given by city and county ordinance

Local ordinance

A local ordinance is a law usually found in a municipal code.-United States:In the United States, these laws are enforced locally in addition to state law and federal law.-Japan:...

s as well as state statutes.

Legislative intent

Legal codes frequently open with expression of the intent of the body enacting the law r ordinance ; for instance, the General Code enacted by one jurisdiction states the purposes of aggressive panhandling legislation.
"This legislation is adopted in order to protect persons from threatening, intimidating or harassing behavior, to keep public places safe and attractive for use by all members of the community and to maintain and preserve public places where all of the community can interact in a peaceful manner. This legislation is also intended to provide for the free flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic on streets and sidewalks in the City, to promote tourism and business and preserve the quality of urban life."

General definition in code

Norwalk, Connecticut provides the following definition.

"Aggressive solicitation usually includes approaching or following pedestrians, repetitive soliciting despite refusals, the use of abusive or profane language to cause fear and intimidation, unwanted physical contact, or the intentional blocking of pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The Common Council further finds that the presence of individuals who solicit money from persons at or near banks, automated teller machines, or in public transportation vehicles is especially troublesome because of the enhanced fear of crime in those confined environments...People driving or parking on City streets frequently find themselves faced with persons seeking money by offering to open car doors or locate parking spaces.

Prohibitions

Restrictions defining solicitation or panhandling as "aggressive" regard both manner and context. A typical ordinance is one from Longview, Washington.

Longview example: place restricted

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:

(1) At any bus stop; or

(2) In any public transportation vehicle or facility; or

(3) 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

(4) Within 50 feet of any automated teller machine (ATM); or

(5) On private property, unless the panhandler is in physical possession of written permission from the owner or lawful occupant thereof. (Ord. 3051 § 2, 2008).

Longview example: manner restricted

9.23.040 Manner of panhandling – Violation.
It shall be unlawful for any person to panhandle in any of the following manners:

(1) 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

(2) By intentionally obstructing the path of the person or vehicle of the person solicited; or

(3) By intentionally obstructing the passage through the entrance or exit of any building; or

(4) By soliciting anyone under the age of 16; or

(5) 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

(6) By using profane or abusive language, either during the solicitation or following a refusal. (Ord. 3051 § 2, 2008).

United States

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) to be spent on anything else (e.g. malt liquor). The Atlanta, Georgia, city council approved a ban on panhandling.

Canada

The province of Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 introduced its Safe Streets Act

Safe Streets Act

The Safe Streets Act, 1999 is a law in the province of Ontario, Canada. In 2004 the province of British Columbia passed its own version of the Safe Streets Act , substantially a word-for-word copy of the Ontario version. The SSA prohibits aggressive solicitation of persons in certain public places...

 in 1999 to restrict specific kinds of begging, particularly certain narrowly-defined cases of "aggressive" or abusive panhandling. In 2001 this law survived a court challenge under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982...

. The law was further upheld by the Court of Appeal for Ontario in January 2007.

United Kingdom

Although begging is illegal, it does not carry a jail sentence under the Vagrancy Act of 1824. However, individual aggressive panhandlers may be subject to court injunction. and jail.

Finland

Solicitation of money on the street has been legal in Finland since at least 1987, when the Poor Law

Poor Law

The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief which existed in England and Wales that developed out of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws before being codified in 1587–98...

was invalidated. In 2003, the Public Order Act replaced any local government rules and completely decriminalized begging. There have been increasing calls for restrictions on immigrants, and these calls are intermingled with concerns about aggressive panhandlers.

Romania

According to US State Department reports, women and children from the Romania are cited by police for "vagrancy and begging", without a distinction between "aggressive panhandling" and uncomplicated "begging".

External links

• http://www.nationalhomeless.org
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC121964/