Metro Jacksonville

Last night I was asked for money three times around the King Street District(Kickbacks area) and Murray Hill(outside Moon River)... didnt think much of it.

Today, that same group is around hitting up the lunchtime crown around Park and King, HOWEVER they are also going around and trying to find unlocked car doors.

Keep your heads up out there gang.

Field, please call 630-0500 and report this problem to JSO.  They actually have an office in the Whiteway building.

Please PM me with descriptions of the beggars.

Dogwalker, I live right around the corner from there, and am probably going to hop around the bars tonight. What do you report to JSO regarding transients?

We were out at Rogue and Kickbacks last night and though they didn't approach my group I did notice them hanging around. With the success of this commercial district, it appears we've attracted some of the downtown bums. Like any commercial business, this follows where the people are.

The lady friend and myself were approached yesterday and today.  I'm quite used to it and am generally polite, but one was quite nasty and he was told in no uncertain terms that he did not want to conduct himself in that fashion last night.

The fact that the one was angry, coupled with the car door situation from today leads me to believe some heightened alert should be had this weekend in the area.

I figured this may be a group from out of town trying to escape the cold and do business down here with the way they were not so discreetly acting last night and today.

St. Paul's Catholic Church in the Park & King area feeds bums in the St. Vincent DePaul House directly across the street from their sanctuary.  Strangers from out-of-town then hang around and beg and steal.  The local bums know better since the Park & King Merchants Association calls the JSO on them.  There is a police sub-office in the Whiteway Building too.

When someone begs you for money in this fashion, please don't give them any.  Step out of their sight and call 630-0500, which is the JSO non-emergency number.  Tell them you were "aggressively" panhandled and threatened when you refused money.  Give them your best description of the person(s) and mention that they were trying car door handles if you saw that.  If JSO is not on a more urgent call, they WILL respond.  They will get positive ID from the bums, take their picture, check for warrants and give them a "trespass warning" for the area.  If they are caught there again, they will go to jail for at least a day, sometimes longer for repeat offenders.

The merchants in the Park & King, 5 Points and Publix Plaza areas are very sensitive to the presence of the beggars and have been way more successful than the Downtown merchants in their efforts to get JSO's help with the problem.

There are two JSO officers, Edwards and Simms, and one Sargent, Pellot, who are specifically assigned to the Riverside/Avondale area and as liaison to RAP Safety Committee.

Let's help them out by not ignoring the bums and calling JSO on them.

If any of the people you see are medium height, white men with white beards ask them if the are "Carl" or "Paul".  They are both repeat offenders in the Riverside/Avondale area and will be gone for a month if you call JSO on them in time.  They are both usually drunk and quite obnoxious.

See - this is what happens when the neighborhood is upscale, has places to go and is walkable and the residents take advantage of those features. Those undesirables also take advantage of the amenities and plan for the largess of the gullible or naive. Youse guys brought this on yourselves - (Big Grin).

Yep, you are right.  You never see these guys in the suburbs because no one is ever outside.  Of course since no one is ever outside you wouldn't see them if they were there.

BTW, they have set up camps in the woods behind your house and stare into your bedroom windows at night.  ;)

Cant wait to see the new bum stories from Mandarin on the news tonight!

The gang is still out there I guess..Wednesday(Feb 9) night some dude about 30 yr old was in the Publix Riverside parking lot at 8 PM trying the car doors too. I was waiting in my car for my friend to finish shopping when he came up to driver's side window and tried the door. Don't know who was more surprised/scared--him or me. It was dark and I don't think he saw me until his face was right at the window. I screamed, then he just smiled and walked over to the next car and tried that door, then the next... By the time I could safely get out of the car to report it to the Publix security guard, he wasn't around anymore.

Quote from: Dog Walker on January 15, 2011, 12:16:51 PM

BTW, they have set up camps in the woods behind your house and stare into your bedroom windows at night.  ;)

This is more true than most would care to know! In SLO, CA they busted up a HUGE homeless camp, no one in the 900K homes knew anyone was living 50 yards out in the woods behind them. Thye had to do an environmental clean up, as there were at least 75 people living in the camp (and all that goes with that).

I got a chuckle out of the add on answer but it's true, but not in MY backyard. ;D

I'm sure many of us have passed by these enclaves, know they are there, but just ignore them. Until the presence becomes personally annoying.  JSO keeps track of the comings and goings and periodically rousts the camps but, like roaches, as soon as the lights are out they are back in force.

Y'all ought to tag along with me sometime when I'm deep in railroad territory... BTW, the camps were traditionally called "Jungles," or "Hobo Jungles." There is one in St. Augustine that I would guess has 100+ people living there. I walked right in and one of guys came up introduced himself and gave me a cold beer! As a rule they're not all bad, Just unfortunate.

OCKLAWAHA