My Reaction to the Article: “Unable to Recruit New Cops, City Using Pandemic Bail Out Cash to Hire Private Security,” News-Star, August 10-16, 2022, vol. 118, number 32, pp. 1 & 12.
Panhandling is NOT a crime
A recent article in the News-Star newspaper, a neighborhood publication for Rogers Park/Edgewater/Uptown/Andersonville) with two other versions for two different areas of Chicago, talks about the difficulty the police are having in getting enough new recruits to work in the city. They have taken to hiring private security forces—such as Streetplus—to help handle difficulties and crowd control.
The article explains how the security forces have been hired to help patrol the Loop, (what used to be) the Magnificent Mile, and now into Uptown.
The problem with this use of private security companies is that they do not seem to be up-to-date on what is happening with laws and language regarding homeless persons.
This article mentions “quality of life” issues and “quality of life crimes, such as public intoxication, panhandling, public urination, noise infractions, and other non-emergency situations that adversely affect the public.”
I was concerned when I saw the off-handed mention of the “increase in panhandling” mentioned as being part of the security company’s topics in their training programs. I hope the company realizes that panhandling is NOT illegal and this has been the case since January of last year (Federal Court Rules Illinois’ Panhandling Law Unconstitutional | Chicago News | WTTW).
I was saddened to see activities of the homeless likened to criminal behavior in the article on this (Unable to Recruit New Cops… in the News-Star issue for August 10-16, 2022, vol. 118, numbe4r 32, p. 1). The article mentions the service being put in place because of other issues, like “gangland activity, looting, carjacking, armed robberies and shootings going on downtown).
As a person who tries very hard to help “homeless people living on the streets in need of services…” –as your article mentions—I feel bad that all homeless people are swept into a group of people to be concerned about, just like those people who are guilty of carjacking, armed robberies, shootings, etc.
Equating panhandling with criminal activity should not be ignored. This is done again, twice on page 12 of the article. Panhandling is not considered illegal. Panhandling is also a term to be avoided now – one not being used by polite persons (https://wikilivre.org/culture/is-panhandling-an-offensive-word/).
It is too easy to lump all persons you might not like to have lunch with into a category of homeless/criminal/things or people to be “concerned about” (p. 1)
To review, panhandling is NOT illegal, it is a term to avoid, and someone who panhandles is not a criminal.