Up & Coming Weekly

June 07, 2016

Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.

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12 JUNE 8-14, 2016 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Most communities have resigned themselves to professional pan- handling as a way of life for some of their citizens. Ordinances gov- erning panhandling are not always the answer to the problem. "Most researchers and practitioners seem to agree that the enforcement of laws prohibiting panhandling plays only a part in controlling the problem," according to the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing. Fayetteville Police Chief Harold Medlock agrees with Brandt J. Goldstein's (1993) study of panhandling in New Haven, Conn., that "public education to discourage people from giving money to panhandlers and ad- equate social services for pan- handlers are the other essential components of an effective and comprehensive response." First and foremost, people must stop enabling beggars. "Panhandling is not the fault of the police or court system … it's caused by people who give them money," Medlock says. Fayetteville city ordinances ban pan- handling after dark and near certain establishments. Panhandlers are not supposed to stand on roadway medians or shoulders. And the practice is banned altogether in the downtown area. Last year, the Downtown Alli- ance launched a drop=box program asking that people who are inclined to give money to the homeless do so by dropping their change in one of the boxes. The money is turned over to agencies which assist the home- less. Not all panhandlers are homeless. Some are professionals capable of earning "several hundred dollars a week," according to Chief Medlock. Police must place dealing with panhandlers in perspective with all the other things cops do every day. Warning panhandlers and ordering them to "move along" are perhaps the most common police responses to pan- handling. Again, according to the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing, "many police officers develop working relationships with regular panhan- dlers. They generally do not view panhandling as a serious matter, and are reluctant to devote the time necessary to arrest and book offenders. Moreover, most officers realize that panhandlers are unlikely to either ap- pear in court or pay a fine. Prosecutors and judges are unlikely to view isolated panhandling cases as serious matters. "I do not recall seeing many of those cases in our District Courts, but we do see some. In cases where homeless people are arrested and are in jail, they will often plead guilty and be sentenced to time served by the Judge," District Attorney Billy West told Up & Coming Weekly. Stop Enabling Panhandlers by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry VOL. 16 FREE to Residents, Businesses and Organizations throughout our Community. Welcome to Radio & TV Stations 18 Month Calendar WINNERS! UP & CO M I NG W EEKLY 'S Local Festivals County Libraries Area Health Facilities Schools Public & Private Parks & Recreation Universities & Colleges Frequently Called Numbers Town of Eastover City Welcome Mayor Nat Robertson Interim Chamber President Darsweil Rogers President FACVB John Meroski Cumberland County Commissioner Marshall Faircloth Live Theatres Museums & Galleries Local Annual Events Town of Hope Mills & Hope Mills Chamber Cumberland County Schools Dr. Frank Till Advertising to Grow Your Business www.upandcomingweekly.com For effective advertising call 910.484.6200 today! People must stop enabling beggars, authorities say.

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