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Local panhandling ordinances continue to fall and Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw explains why that's happening.
He says case law prohibits enforcement.
"In the courts it said people have the right to ask for help because they're homeless. Having said that, there's a difference between somebody coming up to you and saying 'Can I have a dollar?' and what we call aggressive panhandling where someone comes up and bangs on the window of your car."
The Lake Worth Beach City Commission this week voted to repeal its ban, while facing lawsuits. PBSO hadn't enforced the Lake Worth Beach ordinance since January.
Mayor Betty Resch, during that meeting, talked about the importance of coming up with a new ordinance that would withstand legal challenges. Bradshaw thinks banning "aggressive panhandling" specifically may be the answer for cities and the county, which repealed its panhandling ban back in April after a judge declared it unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, the sheriff says people need to stop handing over cash.
"You are not going to change anybody's life with a five-dollar bill. It ain't gonna happen."
He says there are programs and services available to homeless people who really want it. But Bradshaw found out that not everyone wants the help. That was in 2020 when the homeless community taking up residence at John Prince Park were invited to a new shelter near the Fairgrounds.
"There were some people who said 'I'm not going to the shelter.' We said 'It's free,' they said 'Yeah, but they got rules. You have to be there at a certain time, you can't smoke, you can't do this...'They didn't want to live by the rules. They didn't go."