Mayor Martin Ch†vez unveiled a proposal last week aimed at preventing aggressive panhandling and reducing the risk of Albuquerque's citizens being intimidated or assaulted by street solicitors.
The proposal went to the City Council yesterday, and if passed, it will take effect 60 days after publication.
"We're probably still a good three months away," Ch†vez said.
While the ordinance would be applied to the whole city, it would not affect the University, UNMPD Cmdr. James Daniels said.
"Anybody can be on campus as long as they aren't breaking any state laws, and they obey the Visitors' Code of Conduct," Daniels said.
Nothing in the code refers to the presence of or solicitation by panhandlers on campus. Under Section 2.1, however, aggressive behavior results in the removal of a person from campus.
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If passed, the ordinance would impose several restrictions on where and when a panhandler may solicit a person for donations and outlaw "aggressive panhandling."
"It defines for the first time aggressive panhandling," Ch†vez said.
Panhandlers would not be permitted to operate between sunset and sunrise, touch the solicited person or approach a person waiting in line, he said. It would also be unlawful to use profane language while asking for money or to block the path of an oncoming citizen.
"The ordinance also prohibits panhandlers coming within three feet unless assent is indicated," Ch†vez said.
Breaches of the ordinance could result in fines up to $500 or 90 days in jail.
Ch†vez said he is optimistic about the ordinance's effectiveness.
"It's a good comprehensive ordinance patterned after numerous other ordinances throughout the country," he said. "It tested strongly and is supported by all homeless service care delivery organizations."
Sig Olson, executive director of Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, does not fully support the plan. Olson agrees that aggressive panhandling should be combated, but said the plan will negatively affect the homeless population even though they are often innocent of the aggression Mayor Ch†vez wants to address.
"We tend to find that the homeless individuals who panhandle are infrequently aggressive," Olson said. "There are folks on the streets who panhandle even though they aren't necessarily homeless; rather they are trained or professional. These are the people who tend to be the most aggressive."
The consequences of the ordinance will affect all panhandlers, she said, not just those who pose a threat to citizens.
"Homeless people have few places in this city where they are welcomed to come in for a drink or to use a bathroom," Olson said. "Often a person will ask for money so they can buy a drink or purchase something from a store so that they can use the bathroom there. Should we all become absolutely constrictive in terms of what we are willing to share, homeless people may well become dehydrated or go to the bathroom in inappropriate places. They could become ill and end up in hospital."
Olson said aggressive panhandling should not be tolerated, but does not believe the proposal is necessary.
"Aggression is assault, if not battery," she said. "There are already laws against that."
Ch†vez said the ordinance was proposed with the best interest of all parties in mind.
"I'm trying to achieve a higher quality of life for those who are the objects of aggressive panhandling," he said. "I'm also trying to promote more meaningful mode of assisting those who panhandle."
