[GeoGeo]

So sorry your wife had this experience. But thank you for posting so that others can be aware.

I agree with Kitty that people should stop giving them money. If they don't get rewarded then perhaps they will move on. And be prepared....have a plan like some of the ideas Kitty mentioned.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by kittygilchrist

Here I go on another rant. Another cup of coffee please…

First, whoever is giving the panhandlers money stop it! If there were no reward they would go away. This is their work. They hassle and aggravate people until they get money.

Second, if you are too timid, young, small, old, or infirm, to walk past these people without giving off a signal that you are a good victim, prepare some defence:
Hold a loud alarm in your hand, or A canister of pepper spray, put a whistle around your neck. At the very least learn how to set off the alarm on your car from a distance and scream like you mean it.

Third, thank you for the reminder that certain areas are not safe to be in the villages. I will try to remember to carry my gun in those areas. And the whistle. I like my whistle...

I just bought her a can of mace. I tried to get here to carry one a few years ago and she refused.

[DougB]

Originally Posted by Pietrina1

I am wondering why no one, either the Publix manager or the woman, called The Villages Security or the Police

What's the phone number for "Village Security"?

[mulligan]

Originally Posted by DougB

What's the phone number for "Village Security"?

Why ? There's no law against panhandling.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by DougB

What's the phone number for "Village Security"?

Originally Posted by mulligan

Why ? There's no law against panhandling.

There's no Village Security, either.

I believe if you are "panhandled" and then followed in your cart and asked whom you're calling, that's threatening and grounds for calling the police.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by CFrance

There's no Village Security, either.

I believe if you are "panhandled" and then followed in your cart and asked whom you're calling, that's threatening and grounds for calling the police.

That would probably be a hard case to proof without more but it does sound like a point to call the police. Let them sort it out as to whether charges were filed.

I stick up for myself if faced with individual panhandlers. If there's a group of them though I look for an easier approach. I took a wrong turn while trying to get to the ferry station after attending the American Association of Law Libraries Convention in San Francisco in 1992 and wound up in a rather nasty part of the Tenderloin. The tables were kind of turned so I had to be the one looking for a quick exit. I do not know if they have cleaned up these areas of the Tenderloin by 2014. http://www.sfgate.com/homeless/

[BobnBev]

Originally Posted by DougB

What's the phone number for "Village Security"?

1-800-who-cares

[cquick]

I am so sorry that your wife was frightened! Hope she is ok now.