DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF) – The Dallas Police Department says efforts to get aggressive panhandlers off the streets is working.
The department launched its “Quality of Life Initiative” February 1st. Assistant Chief Gary Tittle says more than 130 people have been arrested and many of them are repeat offenders. Some have violent criminal histories.
Tittle says since the initiative started they have seen the number of aggressive panhandlers decrease and disperse to other parts of the city.
Officers are targeting the panhandlers who follow people down the sidewalk, block traffic and yell at people.
Currently police are working 16 hours a day 7 days a week to address the problem. Tittle says those number will eventually be reduced he does not know how long the initiative will continue.
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