Q&A of the Day – What to Do About Florida’s Panhandling Problem?
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Social: @brianmuddradio
iHeartRadio: Use the Talkback feature – the microphone button on our station’s page in the iHeart app.
Today’s Entry: Brian, I’ve heard you talk about this issue before but it’s worse now than ever. I’m talking about panhandling. Something has to be done to stop what this has become which is a free for all at every major intersection and exit ramp! What happened to me this morning was a breaking point. I’m an early bird and am off to the office before 6. When I exited off I-95 this morning there was an aggressive panhandler, which I’ve frequently seen at other times of day, berating me for money at my window. It’s aggravating and at times scary during the day. It’s terrifying when you’re a woman who’s all alone in the dark! Something needs to change!
Bottom Line: Perhaps not so coincidentally I recently received a note from a friend who said a West Palm Beach police officer unloaded on him about how frustrated law enforcement is with not being able to do anything about the panhandling problem. By many accounts the problem is getting worse and what you’re describing, which is now the advent of 24/7 panhandling, is no doubt more concerning for the reasons you’ve mentioned. Before discussing what can be done, I want to walk back just a bit to what brought the proliferation of panhandling to Florida’s roads in the first place for those who might not know. The catalyst for all of this happened in 2020.
As panhandling had been on the rise over the previous decade, the state’s policy to combat it had been as well. This included a law which stated any effort to “obstruct or impede traffic on Florida highways, streets or roads with the intention of soliciting” was illegal as a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 or up to 60 days in jail. With that in place many communities placed their own ordinances. This commonly occurred at the county and often municipal level as well. In 2020, a federal court struck down Florida’s law, citing a violation of the first amendment in a case that involved a repeated offender in St. Augustine. Once the state law fell, activists targeted communities with ordinances in place. This led to Fort Lauderdale and Tampa having courts overturn their panhandling bans as well, with the federal court ruling being cited. After those occurrences most remaining communities with ordinances in place began to repeal them as opposed to incurring legal expenses to have to defend them in court (as was the case with Fort Lauderdale and Tampa). Soon thereafter the same thing happened in Lake Worth Beach and their ordinance fell last September following a legal ruling forcing the city to settle with four panhandlers. Once those events happened and word got around that’s when the “free for all” as you put it, started. As I covered last year, the reason so many people are doing it, and now at all hours of the day and night is because it’s working.
Numerous studies have been conducted on panhandling including a national study published in the International Criminal Justice Review in 2020. In that study, the average panhandler pulled in $9 per hour. Certainly not huge money, but it’s tax free and easy. Closer to home, a 2020 investigative report by the Fort Myers NBC affiliate found South Florida panhandlers in prime locations were regularly pulling in $40 an hour! If we were to project that out across a typical 40-hour work week – we're talking over $83,000 per year tax free. And that takes me to the first action that we all can take to reduce panhandling in and around our commutes and our communities. Stop rolling down the window. Stop providing them with money. I know that’s not the issue with the listener who submitted today’s note, but it is obviously the biggest ongoing issue. It’s not complicated. Regardless of what laws or ordinances are in place, if people stopped forking over money to people panhandling, the panhandling at some point would stop. That’s the best answer of all in addressing this issue.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw has long been a loud voice of reason on this topic in recommending that well intentioned people donate to charities that help those who’re homeless and vulnerable as opposed to forking over cash to panhandlers, many of which are scammers and many of which are substance abusers. Well intentioned people who continue to hand over money discount how significantly actions like that commonly contribute not just to the delinquency of many panhandlers but also how their actions are helping fuel the illegal drug trade further making communities less safe. In terms of what can be done from a policy perspective. An answer could come in the form of the ordinance Palm Beach passed earlier this year after their previous ordinance was rescinded as well.
The ordinance Palm Beach crafted was designed to stand up to a legal challenge based on the federal court ruling striking down Florida’s law and local ordinances. The ordinance states: It shall be unlawful for any person to stand in the portion of the public right-of-way adjacent to a paved roadway or on the roadway paved for vehicular traffic or any public sidewalk of the Town for any purpose which is intended to or actually interrupts the normal flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic on said public right-of-way, roadway or public sidewalk or for the purpose of inviting or enticing a person to enter a commercial establishment adjacent to said right-of-way, street or sidewalk. If that ordinance were in place everywhere and enforced that would no doubt stop the panhandling problem so many are dealing with. And that takes me to my second recommendation which is to advocate for this in your community (if you’re not in Palm Beach) and at the state level. If this policy were in place at all levels of government, it would provide law enforcement agencies with the ability to combat the issue as opposed to most having to sit on the sidelines with their hands tied.