New police tactic to fight Charlotte's panhandling problem

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Channel 9 has reported extensively on Charlotte's panhandling problem, but Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said the way they have been trying to stop it isn't working.

In a 9 investigation, they gave us exclusive access to a new sting operation.

Anchor Scott Wickersham went along as they put away the handcuffs and tried something very different.

Police admit uptown has a bad reputation for panhandlers. People complain about it in online restaurant reviews.

"We were waiting for my car at valet parking. We were aggressively panhandled by 2 individuals,” one review said.

"It's apparent the community should have better programs to address the homeless issue,” another review said.

Wickersham was in uptown Charlotte at night on the streets with undercover CMPD officers looking for panhandlers.

At roll call hours earlier, Wickersham learned this won't be like any other operation.

"We have service providers who will be on scene," Officer Russ Faulkenberry said.

Addiction counselors were out too along with those who can offer shelter and food. The thinking is, if those are the reasons people are panhandling, intervention might help.

"We can try to get them into the shelter and work on a plan with them," Urban Ministry Center’s Allison Winston said.

And if they agree to get help and follow through with it, the illegal panhandling charges could be dropped. Otherwise, they could face jail time and a $500 fine.

It's illegal to ask for money near an ATM, restaurant or a bus stop. It’s illegal to be aggressive or to ask at all after dark.

So Wickersham hit the streets and within minutes, officers detained two men for panhandling and took them to the counselors.

"It’s rough. It's really rough," one man told Wickersham. He called life on the streets "humbling". He said he's accepting the counselors' offer of food and clothing and a place to stay.

At Romare Bearden Park another man, sitting on a bench, asked an undercover officer for money. The officer called it in, but before uniformed officers arrived Wickersham walked by and the man and he asked him for money too.

"I got no one. I got nothing, and I’m not from here. And I’m all by myself with no friends, with nothing," the man said.

Moments later, an officer was there. He poured out the man's beer and then counselors moved in to discuss long term help. Later near the EpiCentre, a notorious hot spot for panhandlers, a man was caught near the valet. Officers stopped another man in front of Blackfinn Restaurant after he asked an officer for money across the street.

In three hours police detained nine people, all of them men. Eight agreed to accept help.

"We can't arrest our way out of this problem. We’ve tried enforcement over and over again and it doesn't stop," Faulkenberry said.

But the man on the bench at the park declined any help or services, meaning he may be back out asking for cash, part of the cycle police are trying to break.

Police also need the public’s help. They know people in Charlotte have big hearts, but they don't want them to give money to people who ask for it on the street.

Click here to read Charlotte's panhandling ordinance.

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