Amarillo PD campaigning to stop panhandling near intersections, prevent accidents

AMARILLO, Texas (KVII) — The Amarillo Police Department is warning drivers about the dangers involved in stopping in the roadway to provide spare change or a few extra dollars to those in need. A campaign endorsing safety can help you and those in need.

“People do have the heart to want to give,” said Jason Riddlespurger, Director of Community Development.

“We do tend to see a lot more panhandling going on in Amarillo,” said Jeb Hilton, Cpl. Amarillo Police Department.

Being close to the holiday season you may feel more inclined to give to those in need. Changing where the donation is given can help prevent accidents at intersections.

“We’re not trying to say that people aren’t in need and a lot of these aren’t legitimate needs it’s just that when you’re out in traffic, going into traffic to collect money or stopping the flow of traffic to give money it’s causing a dangerous situation for you the driver and the pedestrian,” said Hilton.

“We’ve had some people getting hit by cars people have actually died from some of the accidents so we don’t want that to happen,” said Riddlespurger.

Hilton tells ABC 7 News, the department is seeing an increase in folks who are panhandling. The Give Safe Give Smart campaign aims to inform those who have a kind heart to provide a donation where money is spent on services to help those in need.

“We have a lot of pedestrians that get hit in the streets of Amarillo,” said Hilton. “We have a lot of traffic accidents in Amarillo and these are some ways that we can help hopefully bring those down a little bit and make sure everyone is being safe.”

“The best thing you can do is, you want to tell them (Panhandlers) where those resources are,” said Riddlespurger. “That’s the best thing you can do is point them to places where people are spending time and effort to help people like this.”

Helping people for the moment is not a long-term solution. Resources that help provide long-term solutions are non-profits like the Salvation Army and Faith City Mission.