Begging charges tossed out

from the Toronto Sun

By JASON MILLER, SUN MEDIA

As many as half the charges laid against Toronto's panhandlers are dismissed because police officers fail to show up in court, say poverty activists.

Toronto Police laid 10,584 charges of illegal panhandling last year under the Safe Streets Act, a 288% increase over the 2,725 charges laid in 2006.

The majority -- 4,080 infractions -- targeted squeegee kids for panhandling around vehicles, 2,319 were issued for aggressive panhandling, and 1,075 were handed out for begging near transit stops.

But interviews with some of the city's panhandlers -- and poverty activists who support them -- suggest most panhandlers can't afford to pay these fines, which range from $60 to $73 for each infraction.

Some are jailed, but para legals who volunteer to represent them, say it's routine for charges to be thrown out of court because the officers who wrote the tickets are a no-show in court.

OFTEN THE CASE

"Many times that I go to court, the charges are withdrawn because the officers don't show up," said Yu -taka Dirks, an independent Toronto paralegal who helps the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) deal with panhandling offences.

Some panhandlers also fail to appear in court and are convicted and fined in absentia.

PROBATION VIOLATIONS

Failure to pay these additional fines can lead to the panhandler being placed on probation. If they are caught violating terms of their probation, panhandlers can be sent to jail.

Anthony Morris, 37, says he has done up to 30 days in jail for aggressive panhandling. He has also been given more than 30 tickets that went unpaid.

"I ended up in jail for soliciting at a traffic sign," he says. "I just take the tickets to OCAP when I get them."

When speaking to a reporter, Morris busily hit up people he calls regulars at Bay St. and Queens Quay.

Morris says he is on a list to obtain subsidized housing and plans on being a fixture on the streets until he receives a place to live.

Police Chief Bill Blair reports a significant decline in certain kinds of panhandling, such as begging on a roadway and hitting up passersby for cash while standing too close to automated bank machines.

"The (Safe Streets Act) legislation is effective in helping us control certain behaviours which are prohibited, such as panhandling in certain locations, panhandling on the roadway and aggressive panhandling," he says.

He says when dealing with non-aggressive panhandlers, police work with social service officials to help them obtain such necessities as food, housing and healthcare.

He says in the long-term, the focus must be on finding why people beg and on how the city can help them.

Blair is concerned that much of the panhandled money does not go to food and shelter but towards drugs and booze.