Muskogee Sees Rise In Panhandlers By Issuing 'Panhandle Permits'

Panhandlers said they consider Muskogee a panhandler-friendly city now that they can get permits to panhandle.

The city said those permits were created to protect people from panhandlers, and now they are forming a task force to make sure that is the case.

Muskogee city council is implementing a task force to talk about panhandling in the city. It already requires panhandlers to wear vests and register with permits, but there are concerns that it's encouraging more panhandlers to come to Muskogee.

One woman's sign said, "will work,” but right now the only money Kristi Baldwin makes is from panhandling in Muskogee.

"We get cigarettes, we get food, we get food for our dogs,” she said.

Baldwin and her husband Justin Slater are two of more than twenty people in Muskogee with permits to panhandle.

"He went to city hall, got his vest, got his I.D.,” she said.

Muskogee Police Corporal Michael Mahan said the city started requiring permits a year ago.

"We're one of the few cities around here that actually does licensed panhandling,” he said.

To get a permit, panhandlers have to pass a background check, get fingerprints made and buy a vest.

City Attorney Matthew Beese said panhandling is a growing problem in Muskogee, and this is the city's attempt at quashing it.

"Citizens of Muskogee are fairly giving and very charitable and there are people in need, and we want those people to get help, but we have concerns that people are coming to Muskogee to exploit that nature,” Beese said.

Panhandlers we talked to said they like the permits and said the permits are bringing more panhandlers to Muskogee, saying one man drives hours to beg there.

"Yeah he drives from I think McAlester or something,” Slater said. “Yeah, I think it's his own car.”

Which led us to ask, why he would need to collect money if he has a car, but Slater said he wasn't sure and that he asked the man the same question.

"We have to have some rules. We have to have some baselines. We want to make sure it's safe for both the person in need and the person who wants to give,” Beese said.

Panhandlers who do not get a permit could face a fine of $149 on the first offense, $249 on the second and $549 on the third. A list of churches and non-profit organizations are listed on the back of the permits.

The task force is made up of city council members Derrick Reed, Ivory Vann and Wayne Johnson, as well as representatives from Bridges Out of Poverty, Gospel Rescue the Muskogee Police Department and more.

They plan to begin meeting in coming weeks.