The Dallas City Council will consider some new regulations today aimed at cutting down on panhandling. The proposed new ordinances would allow officers with the City Marshal's Office to issue citations to people standing or walking in the median.
City officials have received dozens of reports about panhandling at busy intersections. City officials say it's dangerous for people in the median to try to interact with people in cars, but that activity has been difficult to stop under current city regulations.
"The current ordinance requires that the officer actually see the individual that's adjacent to the roadway trying to get the attention, trying to make the solicitation occur," said Chief David Pughes with the Office of Integrated Public Safety Solutions. "We know when you're in a marked vehicle and they see that marked vehicle coming...that the activity changes."
Under the new ordinance, an officer could issue a citation to someone standing or walking in the median.
"We know that they're there for purposes of solicitation, but we will no longer have to actually observe that solicitation take place," said Chief Pughes. "So it's going to put us in a little bit better position, but the goal is still not to take enforcement action. We know that the law enforcement aspect of this program is the last-case scenario, where we come in and we need to take some action as it relates to enforcement activities."
The citations would be processed through the city's Community Court. The Dallas City Council is scheduled to vote on the new regulations at their meeting today.
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