HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 10478 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 20-10478
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council September 15, 2020
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SUBJECT: UPDATE ON PANHANDLING
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The purpose of this Informal Report is to respond to a request for information on panhandling
calls, enforcement efforts, and a general overview of the current process in the City of Fort Worth.
It is important to note at the onset that there are legal constraints that limit the ability of law
enforcement to enforce panhandling laws. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that panhandling is
a form of speech that is protected by the First Amendment.
In 2017, the City of Fort Worth established the Aggressive Panhandling Ordinance, which clarified
the previous ordinance with clear definitions and gave the Fort Worth Police officers a better tool
to address the problems associated with aggressive panhandling. Even with the changes there
are still concerns surrounding aggressive panhandling in the City of Fort Worth.
The Fort Worth Police Department takes a multi-step approach when dealing with panhandling
complaints. Once a complaint is received or a violation observed, officers will attempt to gain
compliance through educating the violator about available resources along with notifying them of
the current city ordinance prohibiting aggressive panhandling. If those education efforts fail, a
citation will be issued. If the citation does not correct the behavior, a custodial arrest can be made
through our Class C cash bonding process. The custodial arrest is only used when all other
efforts to gain compliance have failed.
The below chart shows the number of panhandling calls that the Fort Worth Police Department
received between January 1, 2019 through July 31 , 2019 compared to January 1 , 2020 through
July 31 , 2020:
2019 2020 % change
Central 829 341 -58.87%
East 266 130 -51 .13%
North 109 102 -6.42%
Northwest 107 56 -47.66%
South 371 171 -53.91%
West 691 301 -56.44%
Total 2373 1101 -53.06%
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 20-10478
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council September 15, 2020
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SUBJECT: UPDATE ON PANHANDLING
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The below chart shows the number of panhandling citations or reports made by the Fort Worth
Police Department between January 1 , 2019 through July 31 , 2019 compared to January 1 , 2020
through July 31 , 2020:
2019 2020 % change
Central 83 52 -37.35%
East 30 11 -63.33%
North 12 21 75%
Northwest 6 3 -50%
South 19 8 -57.89%
West 60 40 -33.33%
Total 210 135 -35.71%
This year we have had some unexpected challenges due to the COVID pandemic. The charts
show that the panhandling calls for service along with citations/reports have decreased
considerably, with the exception of North Division. During the COVID pandemic, many citizens
have been staying at home and this could account for the lower number of calls received. Another
variable associated with the pandemic was that we limited the number of individuals taken to the
Fort Worth City Jail in order to minimize COVID exposure. One of the limitations was the
suspension of the Class C cash bonding procedure, which impacted our ability to address the
extreme aggressive panhandling cases.
One interesting note during the review of this information was the number of calls that were
cancelled prior to the officer's arrival, or where officers made the scene only to find the subject
had already left the location. This is significant to point out because many of the violators are no
longer on scene when the police arrived, and we were unable to provide the educational
component needed to reduce reoccurring violations. The below chart shows the number and
percentage of calls cancelled, or where the subject was not able to be located between January
1 , 2019 through July 31 , 2019 compared to January 1 , 2020 through July 31 , 2020:
2019 2020 2019 % of 2020 % of
total calls total calls
Central 317 107 38.24% 31 .38%
East 115 64 43.23% 49.23%
North 39 25 35.78% 24.51%
Northwest 42 31 39.25% 55.36%
South 159 81 42.86% 46.78%
West 260 101 37.63% 33.55%
Total 932 408 39.28% 37.06
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 20-10478
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council September 15, 2020
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SUBJECT: UPDATE ON PANHANDLING
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It is important to note that not all panhandlers are homeless and not all homeless are
panhandlers, and sometimes the public combines these two groups together confusing their true
intention for panhandling. The Fort Worth Police Department will continue to respond to
aggressive panhandling calls for service and work with our NPOs to address the on-going issues
in each division. We will continue to work with TPW and place signage at our problem locations to
notify individuals that panhandling in the streets is prohibited. We encourage the citizens to
continue to report aggressive panhandling issues so they can be addressed in a timely manner.
Should you have any questions regarding Panhandling response, please contact Assistant Chief
Robert Alldredge at 817-392-4131 .
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS