Agressive panhandling?

chic

chic

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Location
U.S.
Certain communities in MA have become subject to aggressive panhandling. Those in need will follow people around and into stores and even checkout lines. Police have had to involve themselves but with delicacy because it's a touchy subject. It's sad that many are in such dire need they resort to this.

Has aggressive panhandling become an issue where you live? I'm just curious, but this is a new thing outside of heavily populated urban areas.
 

I've only seen one panhandler in Wyoming. I encountered her inside a supermarket late at night. I immediately informed a store employee who called the police. She had no connection to Wyoming.

This is not a "touchy subject." Rational people understand that this is intolerable. Vagrants need to know that they face jail if they do this.
 
There is a notice outside a convenient store in Dallas Texas that reads "do not give $ to panhandlers,they make more $ than you do TAX FREE!!"
 

Not really "aggressive", but an idiot. A friend shared with me his experience with a panhandler. One of those who stands at highway off ramps. My friend was on his way to McDonalds for lunch, it was across from the panhandlers spot. So, when he went through the drive through, he bought an extra combo meal, and drove around to give it to the man. The guy looked at it and said "What the F*** I want money" and threw the food on the ground and stepped on it. My friend vowed to never again go out of his way to help someone like this.
 
I would be nice and accept the food but I wouldn't eat it unless I was really desperate, these days you just don't know what a person is capable of doing.

We don't have too much trouble with aggressive panhandlers in our area. When the police do get a complaint from a merchant or an individual they will talk to the panhandler, check for warrants and encourage them to move along or keep an eye on them by driving by but unless they actually assault someone the police can't do much. Years ago we did have a city ordinance against panhandling but it was struck down as being unconstitutional.
 
Not aggressive , not even seen in the small village in which i live. And I don't go into the big city anymore. {Cincinnati} No need to.

The only time I 'gave' was.....just a day or so, after watching one of those 'disappeared' shows. I swear I saw one of the subjects featured on the show. He was standing at a drive entrance with a sign that read, 'any help appreciated' .

He was 'kept' looking. I circled around, found some $$ in my pocket. I just pulled up behind him, he did not hear my vehicle..I called out his name & he turned around . He had a sort-of surprised look on his face. I handed him the $$ and just said, there are people that are worried about you, and want to hear from you. Wished him good luck, he replied with a 'god-bless you' . I went on about my business.
 
Chic, I have not seen or heard of aggressive panhandling until now. I think the law has to be pretty aggressive in stopping it.
 
I live in a decent sized town in California. We are not San Francisco, yet. Homeless population has greatly increased in the 20 plus years I have lived here.

I have been approached in parking lots. If someone asks for money, I at least know what they are after. What I really negatively react to is the "excuse me" or "can I ask you a question" type approaches. I know they are not approaching me because I look rich or beutiful so I know they want something. Once in a parking lot I ignored a woman and she became very agressive following me. She finally stopped. I wanted to turn around and just scream at her.
 
Kitties said:
I live in a decent sized town in California. We are not San Francisco, yet. Homeless population has greatly increased in the 20 plus years I have lived here.

I have been approached in parking lots. If someone asks for money, I at least know what they are after. What I really negatively react to is the "excuse me" or "can I ask you a question" type approaches. I know they are not approaching me because I look rich or beutiful so I know they want something. Once in a parking lot I ignored a woman and she became very agressive following me. She finally stopped. I wanted to turn around and just scream at her.
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Be careful. Criminals will target older women in parking lots to steal their purses. In one local news report, a criminal grabbed an elderly woman's purse as he drove by and dragged her along on the pavement in the process.

A social worker friend was parked in a grocery store parking lot in a nice part of town in the middle of the afternoon. She was just sitting there in her car writing notes until her next appointment when a guy walked up, reached into her car, grabbed her purse and forced her half-way out her car window in the process. Her arm was injured and later she had to have physical therapy.

Recently, I have switched from taking a purse when I go on errands to keeping my drivers license, credit card and money in a secure pocket.
 
I raarely experience panhandling because I live in a very small town. When I do errands I am in a tiny city and only once encountered a panhandler. I had some cash so I gave it to him.
 
We don't have any panhandlers in the area where I live but when I've been out of town, I've seen a few ... but not on the scale of the USA of which I've seen lots of documentaries...

I couldn't cope with that, and the people washing your windscreens at traffic lights etc.. but on the subject of muggers...and your post KingsX .. I have witnessed that myself and also saw a mugging right in front of my eyes, not here thank God, but in Spain

It's common for them to use distraction techniques..someone sitting in their car while on a gas station forecourt or a supermarket car park may be approached and a map thrust through their window and the muggers asking for directions, while their sidekick snatches the purse happens a lot especially to the elderly or women alone.

A friend of mine who is a large lady shall we say and only in her 40's , perfectly capable of standing toe to toe with most people if it came to a fight, was just getting into her car where she lived on an English Enclave in a certain less salubrious part of Spain.. she'd put her shopping away , and climbed in wearing her handbag across her body..., so the bag part was on the right . As she reached out to close the door, from nowhere , a mugger ( neither Spanish or English..as are most of the muggers in Spain) snatched the door wide open and threw himself over her to get the bag...she was fighting like the devil, and by hauling on the bag he managed to pull her right out of the car. She was taller than him and she punched him right in the face, and bloodied his nose..but he got the bag and made off.

I'll never forget her telling me that the worst thing of all was that she could see a small group of English male expats just yards away across the road..who instead of going to her aid.. just kept shouting to her to ''give up the bag'' it's not worth your life'' ..no-one came to her aid while this guy was robbing her!!
 
I’m in the same situation as prosperos daughter . We live in a rural area and people just don’t do stuff like that here. We do get pan handlers elsewhere but they usually stick to the downtown city area or busy intersection with signs about them.
Sometimes I give sometimes I don’t.

One day while my husband was traveling I decided to go into the city and get some junk food ( not something I normally do )
While sitting in my car eating in the parking lot, a guy came up and started pounding on my window. He looked homeless and a tad scary.,

I screamed ( natural reflex ) and scared the crap out of him. :rofl:
I think he was looking for money , a ride or something ..... I don’t know cause he was too scared to say:laugh:
 
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I live in a suburb of Dallas. A few years ago panhandlers began showing up at a grocery store I frequent. My first encounter with a panhandler was when a woman walked up to me asking for gas money as I was getting out of my car. Thinking it might be true, I gave her a few dollars. But when it happened a second time with a different woman at the same store, I realized it was just a panhandling ploy to get money. Later, something must have happened because I haven't seen any panhandlers at that store for quite awhile.

The strangest panhandler I've seen was a very old and obviously Muslim lady with a small child begging at an Aldi store. She and the child were sitting in the direct sun on a very hot day. I gave her some money and advised her to get in the shade. I don't usually give money to panhandlers... but my thought was... she was probably sent by someone else to beg and if she didn't come home with money she might be mistreated.
 
It was getting so bad here that our city council actually passed a law to make it illegal to panhandle at intersections. Panhandlers were becoming aggressive with drivers at stop lights. The gas ruse or their car has stopped working is also a popular one around here. These panhandlers are often some cocky 20 year old with a "you owe me" attitude. I have a list of local charities and shelters I refer them to and I contribute to those charities so those who are really in need have a place to go for assistance.
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It's been my personal experience that the person who is truly homeless is rarely aggressive. They are often sad, humiliated by their circumstances, have drug/alcohol issues, have an untreated mental health issue. They tend to keep to themselves. They are the ones you see picking up aluminum cans to sell. They will do odd jobs to earn money. We have some buskers (play music for money). I will pay to listen to someone play their guitar or harmonica. These people are much different than the "professional" panhandler. Some of those panhandlers actually frighten me sometimes.
 
@ hollydolly, that is some story. Your friend is one brave lady.

Anyway, This is kind of a panhandling issue:
At the Kroger I usually shop at they have security so the panhandlers avoid them, although I've seen a few in the parking lot carrying a gas can, with inventive stories about just needing a few dollars. If Kroger staff or security sees them they are told to leave.

Few months ago at Kroger I noticed a guy sitting in the area where carts are, he was sitting in one of the disabled scooters,...he asked if I needed a ride, I just said No. Then a few weeks later I saw the same guy...again asked me if I needed a ride, I didn't answer. I was waiting for friend to pull her jeep up so we could load. (I've also seen people wait for taxicabs in the area, so he's probably making a few bucks ...but imo no one in their right mind would get into a car and allow him to take them home.) I heard the guy ask several women if they needed a ride (as they exited store). After I got home I called the store, and they said security would watch for him and tell him to leave the premises. The idea of him approaching women asking if he can give them a ride just doesn't sit well with me. He'll have to run his 'discount taxi/uber' :rolleyes: from someplace else. I haven't seen him lately.
 
I have only encountered one panhandler in my life; not an aggressive one. In the parking lot of the grocery store was a young mother with a couple of kids in her car. She told me she was from a town about 70 miles away and had run out of gas. I gave her some money for gas and to take the children to the McDonald's next door to the grocery store.

On my way into the store, another woman told me "you were scammed." I just smiled and thought to myself that I didn't care whether it was a scam; those children looked hungry to me and the woman seemed kind of desperate. Sometimes it's just easy to forget that there are people truly in need in this land of plenty.
 
Yes AC...my friend was brave, and tbh even tho' I'm only little I would have put up a fight too...although it wasn't 'till later that my friend went into shock, and realised just what could have happened

Here in the UK, anyone approaching asking for cigarettes or some change are called beggars and not panhandlers.. mostly they're immigrants, and yes I've had several approach me at an outdoor cafe ,and ask if I had a spare pound!! I never give it to them

Again in Spain.. (I'm making Spain sound awful but there's a lot of robberies there in the cities, and tourists areas) there's a ruse where someone knocks on a door claiming they've lost their car keys and need to get home to get a second set... or they live in the next road and have locked themselves out ( giving a fake address).. and could they borrow money to pay for a cab home or get a locksmith out , with the promise of immediate repayment . You wouldn't believe how many elderly people fall for this scam. These people are clever, they go to the house well dressed , well spoken..and people just believe them..mainly English tbh..the Spanish wouldn't give them the time of day, but the English aren't used to these type of scams generally, so they get robbed!!

Also at the entrance to some of the Spanish markets the immigrant beggars drug their children ( babies and toddlers) so they sleep right there in the mid-day sun while the woman sits on the ground wailing and begging for money from the literally thousands of people( again mainly tourists) the police make a little effort now and again to rid the place of the scourge of them, but they always return...
 
dkay said:
It was getting so bad here that our city council actually passed a law to make it illegal to panhandle at intersections. Panhandlers were becoming aggressive with drivers at stop lights. The gas ruse or their car has stopped working is also a popular one around here. These panhandlers are often some cocky 20 year old with a "you owe me" attitude. I have a list of local charities and shelters I refer them to and I contribute to those charities so those who are really in need have a place to go for assistance.
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It's been my personal experience that the person who is truly homeless is rarely aggressive. They are often sad, humiliated by their circumstances, have drug/alcohol issues, have an untreated mental health issue. They tend to keep to themselves. They are the ones you see picking up aluminum cans to sell. They will do odd jobs to earn money. We have some buskers (play music for money). I will pay to listen to someone play their guitar or harmonica. These people are much different than the "professional" panhandler. Some of those panhandlers actually frighten me sometimes.
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I totally agree with you . The worst offenders are usually ‘fakes.’
We’ve noticed that where we live also. People pretending to have a physical disorder in order to get sympathy cash seems to be on the rise. They seem to pick busy intersections because more people will see them and HAVE to see them. The best are professional scam artists. It seems to be a way of life for them and they have no shame. It’s a pathetic enough situation but what makes it worse is that they don’t care that they are scamming. IMO that’s FAR worse.
 
dkay said:
It was getting so bad here that our city council actually passed a law to make it illegal to panhandle at intersections. Panhandlers were becoming aggressive with drivers at stop lights. The gas ruse or their car has stopped working is also a popular one around here. These panhandlers are often some cocky 20 year old with a "you owe me" attitude. I have a list of local charities and shelters I refer them to and I contribute to those charities so those who are really in need have a place to go for assistance.
.
It's been my personal experience that the person who is truly homeless is rarely aggressive. They are often sad, humiliated by their circumstances, have drug/alcohol issues, have an untreated mental health issue. They tend to keep to themselves. They are the ones you see picking up aluminum cans to sell. They will do odd jobs to earn money. We have some buskers (play music for money). I will pay to listen to someone play their guitar or harmonica. These people are much different than the "professional" panhandler. Some of those panhandlers actually frighten me sometimes.
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I've had experiences with aggressive panhandlers when stuck it traffic. But I don't judge the validity of their need. When aggressive panhandling moves into suburbia, as it has in some MA communities, it brings greater awareness of the need of others and makes one wonder how to cope with this growing problem which is so sad to see in America.
 
KingsX said:
Be careful. Criminals will target older women in parking lots to steal their purses. In one local news report, a criminal grabbed an elderly woman's purse as he drove by and dragged her along on the pavement in the process.

A social worker friend was parked in a grocery store parking lot in a nice part of town in the middle of the afternoon. She was just sitting there in her car writing notes until her next appointment when a guy walked up, reached into her car, grabbed her purse and forced her half-way out her car window in the process. Her arm was injured and later she had to have physical therapy.

Recently, I have switched from taking a purse when I go on errands to keeping my drivers license, credit card and money in a secure pocket.
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Good advice. I'm not comfortable sitting in my care someplace with my windows down. I too worry about someone approaching. I've even rolled up my window at red light intersections. I think it's good to stay on alert. You never know when someone can come out of nowhere.
 
hollydolly said:
Yes AC...my friend was brave, and tbh even tho' I'm only little I would have put up a fight too...although it wasn't 'till later that my friend went into shock, and realised just what could have happened

Here in the UK, anyone approaching asking for cigarettes or some change are called beggars and not panhandlers.. mostly they're immigrants, and yes I've had several approach me at an outdoor cafe ,and ask if I had a spare pound!! I never give it to them

Again in Spain.. (I'm making Spain sound awful but there's a lot of robberies there in the cities, and tourists areas) there's a ruse where someone knocks on a door claiming they've lost their car keys and need to get home to get a second set... or they live in the next road and have locked themselves out ( giving a fake address).. and could they borrow money to pay for a cab home or get a locksmith out , with the promise of immediate repayment . You wouldn't believe how many elderly people fall for this scam. These people are clever, they go to the house well dressed , well spoken..and people just believe them..mainly English tbh..the Spanish wouldn't give them the time of day, but the English aren't used to these type of scams generally, so they get robbed!!

Also at the entrance to some of the Spanish markets the immigrant beggars drug their children ( babies and toddlers) so they sleep right there in the mid-day sun while the woman sits on the ground wailing and begging for money from the literally thousands of people( again mainly tourists) the police make a little effort now and again to rid the place of the scourge of them, but they always return...
Click to expand...



Spain sounds a lot like Mexico where tourists are not only scammed but also murdered.

It's especially terrible abusing children for their scams.

Ironically, I just saw a weather report for Spain yesterday... in the next few days, they are expecting 120 F in some places...
that's not a typo... 120 degrees F.

.
 
I haven't seen it yet in my small city, but in a larger nearby city I have. Once while at a stop light at a busy intersection there, I saw a guy to my right with his "help sign" making hand-signals to another guy diagonally across the intersection.

Seemed like the shift was changing.
 
About 15 years ago, on a trip to Italy, our little tourist group was frequently followed by bands of gypsies. They had children and babies with them.They were notorious pickpockets, and the tour guides absolutely despised them. They kept chasing them away from us. Probably they zeroed in on the fact that these were innocent, mostly American tourists.
 
Aunt Bea said:
I would be nice and accept the food but I wouldn't eat it unless I was really desperate, these days you just don't know what a person is capable of doing.

We don't have too much trouble with aggressive panhandlers in our area. When the police do get a complaint from a merchant or an individual they will talk to the panhandler, check for warrants and encourage them to move along or keep an eye on them by driving by but unless they actually assault someone the police can't do much. Years ago we did have a city ordinance against panhandling but it was struck down as being unconstitutional.
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Same here. Panhandling is a legal means of support here as long as the panhandler does NOT get aggressive. I see them by the dozens while I'm out and about. I used to give but I'm on a very tight budget these past few years. I see their signs when I'm driving along, planning how to cook my last piece of chicken or pound of ground beef, and I feel very fortunate.
 

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