When the issue of cracking down on panhandlers first came to light I was concerned about how it might affect the panhandlers I know. Eventually Councilwoman Nancy Barricat Vaughn and I came to a bit of a truce over the matter when I learned the City of Greensboro was being sued over the matter and that Ms Vaughn's intentions really are good.
You see, while I can't speak for Councilwoman Vaughn I don't think the Greensboro Police Department made her aware of what I'm about to make you aware of even though GPD has known it for some time and might be involved. I first learned of this from a friend on Facebook but thought it a bit of a stretch. Then, earlier this week I read of it on a blog thread at the News & Record. Then, a few e-mails came floating in from folks who would rather I not use their names. In a moment you'll understand why.
There exists in Greensboro, something that is sometimes called the Panhandlers Guild. It goes by other names as well. What the Panhandlers Guild actually is, is a "protection" racket that extorts money from panhandlers under threat of bodily harm or death should they refuse to pay. The guild is a group of thugs that control when and where panhandlers work and sometimes force them to "work" even when they don't want to. So what does the Greensboro Police Department do about the problem? They covertly work to get City Council to pass tougher panhandling laws so they can arrest the victims instead of the real criminals.
So why might certain elements within GPD do such a thing? One reason might be to keep the number of panhandlers more manageable by reducing the number of locations were panhandlers are allowed to ply their "trade" thus ensuring the thugs and the cops on the take get 100% of the commissions.
If I were running the City of Greensboro I would be calling the SBI right about now. And remember: by giving money to panhandlers you might be giving money to crooked cops.
