Pandhandling declines in Dayton amid pandemic
Policing, COVID-19 and social service efffffffffffforts major factors in trend.
Panhandling-related charges andcalls for service havedeclined in Dayton, which is a very different trend compared to some other U.S. communities.
Some cities have reported a sharp increase in begging following massive layoffffffffffffs, business closures and other economic disruption related to the pandemic.
But local lawenforcement offifficials anddowntownadvocates say calls andcomplaints about people asking for money are down, and they largely credit policing strategies and a concerted effffffffffffort to get help for people on the streets.
“Someof thismay be the result of COVID, because people aren’t venturing out as much,” said Sandy Gudorf, president of the Downtown Dayton Partnership. “But also, the bigger picture is continued efffffffffffforts by the Dayton police, our ambassadors and social service agencies of really working together to try to connect those vulnerable individuals to services they need.”
There have been about 256 calls for service related to panhandling in the city, compared to 337 in 2019 and 610 in 2018, according to Dayton police data.
The Dayton prosecutor’s offiffice has charged two peoplewith violating the pedestrian safety laws this year, which is a signifificant decline, said Stephanie Cook, the city’s chief prosecutor.
She said the coronavirus is likely amajor factor in the trend, but she also thinks an active police presence and aggressive enforcement of city code have played a role.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, many people are spending a lot more time at home.
There has been less traffiffic on some roadways, and people who normallymightaskformoneymay feel unsafe doing so. Likewise, some peoplemay be less inclined to handout money because of safety concerns.
Some groups have strongly discouraged people from putting spare change in panhandlers’
buckets, cups and hands during the outbreak, over fears of potentially spreading germs and the virus.
But offifficials say they think Dayton policing strategies are paying offffffffffff.
In response to growing complaints about aggressive panhandling, the city of Dayton approved a pedestriansafety ordinance in 2018 that prohibits people from entering or remaining on certain portions of highways— like traffiffic islands and medians, said Dayton police Lt. James Mullins, commander of the central patrol operations district.
The new regulations, while not heavily enforced, have led to a reduction in pan handlers loitering at highway entrance and exit ramps, Mullins said.
Instead ofmaking arrests and issuing citations for many violations, police educated violators by issuing warnings and informational flflyers explaining the city’s law, he said.
“By giving them the flflyer with all the information they needed toknow, theyhadno way of denying knowledge of the law,” he said.
Police were “very generous” with their educational efforts, and many would-be panhandlers stopped loitering at prohibited locations, Mullins said.
The police department also deploys offifficerswith its Mobile Crisis Response Team to followup on panhandling complaints to try to connect people with resources for housing and other needs.