The Observation Deck

Very aggressive panhandler in the dining area of United Dairy Farmers (UDF) first wanted money, then wanted my bus pass, then wanted to ride in the cab he apparently heard me call (also asked to "borrow" my cell phone). I had enough, walked out, and crossed the street ready to tell Westlake Cab to change the pickup to IHOP just as the cab showed up. So, I told the driver he may want to get out of there fast as the panhandler now sees the cab and was quickly trying to put down his donut and make his way out of UDF. The driver asked me what is there to be scared of, I told him I am just giving you advice to get out of here asap for your own good to save you time and money. If there's one thing cab drivers understand, it's time=money. So we made it out of the parking lot unscathed and hit a lot of green lights, so if the panhandler was running on foot he would not have had much of a chance.

Doug

I stopped getting off at the West 117th Train station due to beggars there. Once, a group of three all wanted to "borrow" my cell phone. This was before they had the station all torn up like it is now for renovation. They practically give cell phones away now, and if it's an emergency I would offer to call 911, but this always makes me suspicious. If not that they want to steal my phone, but that they want to distract me for some reason...

DougHuntingdon wrote:......Very aggressive panhandler in the dining area of United Dairy Farmers (UDF) first wanted money, then wanted my bus pass, then wanted to ride in the cab ....

One of our employees was accosted in Cleveland while filing his tank up with gas. The panhandlers demanded money, became very aggressive, pushed him against the truck and hit him in the face. (I guess it didn't help that he told them to F off and get a job). He grabbed a wrench and hit one of them over the head. The panhandlers fled.

A few minutes later the police arrived and arrested our driver. He spent two days in jail. Our truck spent two weeks in the impound lot. I spent five hours on the phone trying to get our truck back. When the police dropped the charges it was with the comment "I don't know why they arrested himm."

While in the impound lot various tools and a cell phone disappeared.

It only takes a small number of morons to increase the aggravation level in a City. At some point people just throw in the towel.

The aggravation level can be computed by the number of morons squared times the total population of the City divided by the bureaucratic efficiency factor (BEF).

M 2 x P = T (total aggravation)/BEF, where the BEF is <1 and > 0. A BEF of 1 indicates a highly efficient bureaucracy. Computing the BEF is a time consuming process complicated by Kowalski's theory of bureaucratic inertia which in part states that:

As the amount of bureaucratic activity approaches infinity the amount of work completed approaches zero.

I suppose the City could hire someone to run the numbers. Or maybe we could have more aggressive police patrols. I'm not sure which is better.

Try responding to panhandlers using a british accent in a very deep and resonant voice.

Let me know what happens.

Perhaps I'm being niave, but from Doug's post, it was clear that he had a cell phone, as most of us do.....

SO...here's a novel idea....when approached by an agreesive panhandler, immediately take out your cell phone, call 911 and tell the dispatcher you're being threatened by (fill in the description here). Tell the dispatcher that you are in fear of bodily harm and that you'll stay on the line (so the dispatcher can hear any confrontation) until the police arrive.

Then take the panhandler's photo with the built in camera phone.

Or, we can take a more passive avoidance approach.

Jeff

How about you pretend to call 911, so the operator doesn't have to spend time on a non-emergency?

Brian:

I think having the Police actually show up could be beneficial in a number of ways:

1) It could well makee a dent in problem panhandlers and

2) It may well demonstrate to the Police that there is a problem which they need to address

We should neither be afraid to call on our law enforcement services nor embarassed to confront the elements of chaos....

Jeff

Interesting point and potential new thread....

After all - why would we feel that we shouldnt call the police about non-emergencies that are still a matter of law enforcement?

There are many people that will say that law enforcement is 'bothered' with many non-emergencies; however, isnt that a part of their job too? Does is really make sense to wait until someone gets hurt before asking for thier interaction?

And if the reason we dont want to call them for non-emergencies is because we would not have enough resources to respond to an emergency as a result - them perhaps we DO need to reassess our staffing and/or organization.

Personally, I will call the police for panhandlers, loud parties across the street, cars that have been parked on the street for several days, or any other issue that deteriorates my neighborhood or impinges upon my rights. If we dont - how will they know, and how can we expect them to make things any better?

FFT
Charyn

521-6773 is the non-emergency police phone number. This can be used for the loud party, car parked for days or your car broken into overnight.

If you at all feel unsafe, absolutely dial 9-1-1 and explain what is taking place. We have quality dispatchers who are trained to prioritize calls. They will ask you what your emergency is and you simply need to state that you are not sure. If you do not feel in any danger and can safely leave the area, call the non-emergency number and the dispatchers will assign someone as they become available. It's possible that a police car was a block away and available and they would handle it. If you don't call, the officer a block away may turn and go in a different direction. It's also possible that all officers are tied up and the panhandler will be gone by the time they can get there. If you are concerned for your safety and a situation is becoming dangerous, dispatch will pull officers off a less important call and start them your direction.

Rule of thumb: If it is an emergency or you feel unsafe dial 9-1-1.
Crime in progress dial 9-1-1.
Suspicious activity, i.e. stranger looking in a neighbor's window, car parked in same spot for days, loud party, call 521-6773.
NOTE: You kind of need to use your head in a person looking in the neighbor's window. It could be a relative or friend who is goofing around or just tapping on the window because they know their friend's doorbell doesn't work. In that case non-emergency is OK but take note of what the person looks like and is wearing. If it checks OK that sends a message to the neighbor and his friend/relative that they are in a caring community. If the person looking in the window is glancing around as if to see if they are being watched, and then they head to the back of the house then call 9-1-1. Stay on the phone as dispatch will want to start cars your way while you can describe direction of travel and clothing.

I could go on for pages but I'd rather not put people to sleep. Let me end with one important note for personal safety: Sometimes you just get a feeling that something is not right. With no logical explanation, the small hairs on the back of your neck stand up and you get a funny feeling in the pit of your stomach. TAKE HEED: It is better to walk the other way or cross the street and feel silly than it is to become a victim and say to yourself that you knew something was wrong. Many victim's over the years said that they had felt uneasy but simply couldn't put their finger on it so they ignored the feeling only to regret it later.

Non-emergency issue is fully understood. BUT, if this is a problem, and apparently it is, how can we fault our law enforcement for failing to take action when we don't tell them that action is required? Are we left with the only viable option being the hope that by mere happenstance there will be a patrol car in the area with an officer who happens to observe a confrontation and conclude that his/her intervention is required? Good luck.

And just an aside....we're all big boys and girls. Our kids, who also fall victims to these aggressive, potentially dangerous, panhandlers are not. We may have the foresight to be able to avoid, ignore, resolve or deal with such a situation. I would feel far better if our youth were not placed in a situation in which they are ill equipped to make the same rational decisions that an adult may make. If we all make the choice to come down hard on the activity, to call in OUR law enforcement, perhaps, just perhaps, there will be less of it occurring? Or, we could hope that a cop happens by and whine when they don't.

Jeff