Video: Zone 4 Supervisor on Panhandling
Panhandling is an increasing problem, so what is being done about it?
Photos
Videos
The Zone 4 Supervisor spoke to NPU-T residents at the latest neighborhood meeting and discussed the issue of panhandlers in the area.
He showed residents a number of "Will Work for Food" signs, and said that all of those signs had resulted in arrests. Panhandling is against the law, and if warned to move and they do not do so, "we arrest them," Sgt. Oliver said.
Unfortunately, most times, the judges let them go the next day.
As of Monday, September 17th, the Atlanta City Council was due to vote on creating a new tougher ordinance against panhandlers, which have become somewhat of an epidemic in downtown Atlanta. Though Zone 4 arrests its share of panhandlers, the law is said to be so weak that violators are out of jail the next day.
As residents wait for a new tougher law, the best advice is to call 911 when you see a panhandler and would like him/her to move. The police officers should give the offender a warning, and if they are found again doing the same thing on the same day at the same location, they will be arrested.
Marc Richardson
1:53 pm on Tuesday, September 18, 2012
from our Facebook - Lisa Richardson says....This has been something I've wondered about since moving to the area. Are youth teams (and other organizations) allowed to solicit donations on the street? If so, how are they distinguished from panhandlers? A car wash is one thing, but having children weaving in and out of traffic on a busy street corner bugs me both as a parent as a passerby.
Marc Richardson
1:54 pm on Tuesday, September 18, 2012
from our Facebook - Tami Fuller says.... I am not a native of Atlanta, I sometimes cut down side streets off Cascade for new routes or to find some hidden treasures. One thing that I notice are huge empty factories and warehouses in the middle of run down residential areas. I understand that the days of manufacturing and mills that supported the income of the neighborhoods are gone but what is going to take its place- these people are not college graduates, probably didn't complete high school, might have some drug induced/poverty induced issues they need jobs like yesterday, we can't keep our community safe when some have been left behind.