Fredericton police give out fewer panhandling fines

Tickets issued to panhandlers on Frederictonstreetsdecreased drastically in the last 21 months.

Fredericton police issued 32 tickets forpanhandling during that time,compared to105 tickets issued inthe previous 22 months.

That'sgood news for those working closely with people whomake their livingon city streets.

"To me [thosenumbers] sayhope,"said Warren Maddox, executive director of the Fredericton Homeless Shelters. "That there is maybe bettercommunication, better understanding. Maybe there is less apathy, which are allgreat."

ARight to Information Request filedby CBC Newswith the Fredericton Police Force shows 32 tickets were issued to panhandlers between October 1, 2015and June 16, 2017.

Of those, seven were warnings and 25 were prosecution tickets, which come with a fine of$140.

A previous request showed a total of98 prosecution tickets and seven warning tickets to people begging orloitering in the city.

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"I think for the people on the street, they understand that there is sort of this unspoken line that they shouldn't cross or there will be consequences," said Maddox. "But it shows that perhaps police are also showing restraint."

I think for the people on the street, they understand that there is sort of this unspoken line that they shouldn't cross or there will be consequences.- WarrenMaddox, executive director of Fredericton Homeless Shelters

That restraint is key according to Maddox who said he doesn't begrudge police officers who do, onoccasion, write tickets to thosecausinga disturbance.

"They need to have that tool in their toolkit," said Maddox. "Whetherthey use it or not is another matter. You don't drive finishing nails with a sledgehammer. Having the tool doesn't mean you use it all the time."

Not just a homeless issue

There is nocorrelationbetween the decline in ticketsand the amount of homelessin the city.

All ofFredericton'sshelters have been at capacity for well over a year now, and many of those who are out asking for money are not homeless, said Maddox.

"In a lot of cases, these people are just trying to keep a roof over their head, to get some groceries, and to live and survive," said Maddox.

The Fredericton Police Force was asked for comment on this storybut did not respond to CBC News before publication time.