Posted on 03/02/2008 5:41:03 PM PST by SmithL
Nothing characterizes the dysfunctional personality of San Francisco like its troubled relationship with panhandlers. While the city bills itself as a free-spirited tourist destination, visitors and residents regularly complain it is nearly impossible to walk down Market Street without being unpleasantly hassled.
Ron Hansman, who has worked in the city on and off since 1970, says he took a visiting friend to dinner in North Beach in November and ended up in a confrontation with a belligerent panhandler in front of a Columbus Avenue restaurant.
"I was thinking, what happens if we have to fight this guy?" Hansman said. "We're both 63 years old. What if he has a knife? Should I give him money to go away?"
...In 2003, 60 percent of city voters approved Proposition M, authored by then-Supervisor Gavin Newsom, banning aggressive solicitation in public places.
But nothing seems to have changed.
...And yet, the vast majority of "quality of life" violators have their cases dismissed, often with the help of homeless advocates like the Coalition on Homelessness, which offers to let violators drop off their citations at their office at 468 Turk St. Attorneys, often working pro bono from some of the biggest law firms in the city, take over the tickets and argue to get them dropped. Their success rate is said to be roughly 85 percent.
Paul Henderson, .. says that in an 11-day period last month, 85 citations were dismissed without even an appearance by the defendant and over the objections of prosecutors.
The reason,...is that the defendant's attorneys - and then the court - are demanding that the arresting officer generate a traffic report, describing if it was cloudy or clear, wet or dry, time of day, etc.
"You are essentially creating a new standard that is not required by law,"
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
San Francisco is the armpit of the west. Berkeley is the sphincter.
In Texas we turn “”agressive”” panhandlers into dead criminals...
Just like a liberal, bringing fists to a knife fight.
LOL, but can you imagine the trouble he would be in if he shot the guy?
>> was thinking, what happens if we have to fight this guy?” Hansman said. “We’re both 63 years old. What if he has a knife?
Just like a liberal, bringing fists to a knife fight.<<
****
Actually, these liberals would prefer to flaunt their peace signs, even if a criminal threatened them physically.
Panhandling citations??? Gawd almighty...
With the berkeley city council being a little cluster of hemorrhoids.
39 people account for that 72%. Don't you suppose getting those 39 off the street and teaching them to do something useful like turning broken concrete blocks into gravel would solve most of the problem?
Iterate over a few years of paying income taxes, receiving physical threats from the "unfortunate", and becoming familiar with the tell-tale outward signs of certain nasty habits, and now I look them in the eye and say "no". I hope to one day graduate to "get a job".
They would "vanish" (get a job, find a higher density of saps to mooch from) in a week if nobody in a particular area gave them money, but the majority of saps just keep forking over money for nothing the guarantee of continued hassle and implied threats. I know some folks who even buy them booze...DON'T PUT FOOD OUT FOR THE SKUNKS.
Yes, stupid and liberal. I apologize for the redundancy.
Yeah,they get the idea that panhandling IS a job in itself. THat’s wrong.
;0)
If they arrest and charge this vagrant, the city has to provide housing, three squares a day, health care if needed, and a public defender. The DA has to expend hours to prepare a case. Evidence has to be logged and stored, witnesses interviewed. They have to schedule time on the court docket and provide transport back and forth to court appearances.
In return, the perp has no money to pay fines or court costs, and no property to attach. It's a better deal for the city to just let him walk.
Do you think the city/state looks at the defendant's ability to pay when they decide whether to try him? I reached this conclusion after seeing an acquaintance arrest for DUI on suspended license, testing positive for cocaine, for the third time in a year. He was out the next day, and never prosecuted.
I visited SF exactly once, and only for a couple of hours. Your story mirrors mine.
I had a rental car for a couple days and parked @ the hotel's lot... something like 22% tax on top of the parking fee. Hey San Fran... why do not you use some of that ill gotten gains to take out the trash (a.k.a. the militant homeless)?
LOL...excellent description. And the reason I seldom go into SF.
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