By Robert Tanner
The Associated Press

Cities across the nation - including Cincinnati - are cracking down on aggressive panhandling, in some communities restricting panhandlers to designated "blue box" sections of sidewalk, at the same time hard economic times are driving up the numbers of homeless.

Advocates for the homeless warn of discrimination against the needy. But community leaders are passing ordinances to curb what they see as a wave of intimidating panhandlers crowding the sidewalks and jostling shoppers.

The laws are not about punishing the poor for their poverty, city leaders said. Most aggressive panhandlers choose begging as a profession, said Cincinnati City Manager Valerie Lemmie.

"One tends to assume the panhandler is homeless and more often than not has a social service need that's driving the panhandling," Ms. Lemmie said. "If you look at the police data, it's not necessarily the case."

Most downtowns, like Cincinnati's, are safe, she said. But an aggressive panhandler can create a very different impression. Downtown Cincinnati Inc., a private business group, has hired "ambassadors" to help police keep a more wholesome atmosphere on city streets. Community leaders there also are exploring the possibility of requiring panhandlers to register, as Dayton, Ohio, did several years ago.

Asheville, N.C., passed an ordinance earlier this month barring aggressive panhandling, with fines of up to $500 and up to 20 days in jail for people with at least five prior misdemeanors.

"You basically couldn't walk down the street without being aggressively panhandled," said Deputy Chief Ross Robinson. "When a reasonable person begins to wonder about their own safety, it's time to stop. It's past time to stop."

Asheville isn't alone. Anti-panhandling ordinances - as well as rules barring sleeping on sidewalks - have been put in place in Lakeland and Orlando, Fla.; Eugene, Ore.; and Santa Cruz, Calif. Proposals are being discussed in Reno, Nev., and Cincinnati, as well.

Homeless advocates say enforcement misses the point.

"What we propose is that cities address the problem rather than criminalizing the people," said Maria Foscarinis, executive director of the National Law Center on Homeless & Poverty. "Not all people panhandling are homeless. But by and large, people who are begging on the streets are very poor."

Bans, fines or punishment for panhandlers or the homeless are not new. But the latest actions come as states suffer their weakest economy in decades. Many cities say their financial ability to meet the need for food and shelter - up by 20 percent in some places - is falling, according to a survey in mid-December by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

New York City has seen a record number of homeless, with an average of 37,000 a night in city shelters, up from an average of 21,000 in 1998. And that doesn't count people who sleep outdoors.

City and business leaders said they're trying to come up with plans that don't simply sweep away the problem.

In Orlando, Mayor Glenda Hood just held a three-day conference with churches, service providers, the homeless and their advocates, and law enforcement to discuss solutions.

Orlando last summer passed a law barring people from sitting or laying on downtown sidewalks, with violators fined $500 and sent to jail for 60 days. Panhandling was restricted to "blue boxes" drawn on downtown sidewalks.

City leaders said it works; advocates for the homeless disagree.

"I've seen no evidence from anyplace in the country that the kinds of ordinances that were passed here are effective in solving anything," said Robert H. Brown at the Coalition for the Homeless in Orlando, which runs a 650-person shelter.

Ms. Foscarinis, who tracks government actions regarding the homeless, sees a civil rights issue.

"The enactment of laws targeting begging is rife with potential for discriminatory enforcement," she said. A well-dressed person asking for money won't be looked at as quickly as someone who looks homeless; a business person taking a nap on a bench won't be arrested, but a homeless person will, she said.

City and business leaders, however, said they can't ignore the issue.

"Our downtown, like a lot of downtowns, is now a neighborhood," said Ms. Hood. "People are living there, raising their family there. They didn't feel safe because of the gathering of homeless individuals."