Automation Gallery
Superstar
Beggars who use stolen gas station squeegees will soon feel the squeeze from Toronto Police.
Bracing for an annual influx of drifters from across Canada, west-end officers recently applied codemarks to windshield cleaners at five gas outlets in an area that includes Parkdale.
“We have done it in the past, but this year we’re starting early to hit them hard,†Sgt. Jeff Zammit said of hordes of expected street people.
The 14 Division Community Response Unit (CRU) supervisor said the area is one of several in downtown Toronto plagued from spring to fall by mostly young panhandlers staking out intersections seeking money from motorists.
“Transients come to Toronto for a good time and the only way they get money is by panhandling,†he said.
Those using squeegees on windshields are called “Squeegies†or “Squeegie kidsâ€.
The busiest sites are Queen and Bathurst Sts., Queen and Spadina Ave., Spadina and Lakeshore Blvd., Lakeshore and Jameson Ave., and Lakeshore and Strachan Ave.
CRU teams routinely check street people, based on complaints from motorists plus residents objecting to wild parties in parks.
Officers enforce Ontario’s 1999 Safe Streets Act, a reaction to aggressive beggars — including some who turned violent when rebuffed.
Most of those arrested are released, their offences “considered to be a minor offence,†Zammit said. But “it’s a big problem.
“Some people object to us bothering them and say they want to give them money,†he said. “We ask them instead to offer them food.â€
Many drifters use public shelters and foodbanks, “spending the money they get on booze and drugs,†Zammit said.
Gas stations are plagued with squeegee thefts and — until they had “distinctive†marks applied — police had no way to detect a stolen one, he said.
At a busy Esso station on King St. and Strachan Ave., several motorists welcomed the police initiative, but citing company policy, the manager declined comment.
Customer Tony Leal, 38, said intersection beggars “are annoying†and should be banned unless donating to charity.
Thefts will only result in gas stations pumping up prices,†Leal added.
Anyone caught with a branded squeegee faces a charge of possessing property obtained by crime. Conviction can bring jail time, fines and probation
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/04/25/cops-target-squeegee-kids
Bracing for an annual influx of drifters from across Canada, west-end officers recently applied codemarks to windshield cleaners at five gas outlets in an area that includes Parkdale.
“We have done it in the past, but this year we’re starting early to hit them hard,†Sgt. Jeff Zammit said of hordes of expected street people.
The 14 Division Community Response Unit (CRU) supervisor said the area is one of several in downtown Toronto plagued from spring to fall by mostly young panhandlers staking out intersections seeking money from motorists.
“Transients come to Toronto for a good time and the only way they get money is by panhandling,†he said.
Those using squeegees on windshields are called “Squeegies†or “Squeegie kidsâ€.
The busiest sites are Queen and Bathurst Sts., Queen and Spadina Ave., Spadina and Lakeshore Blvd., Lakeshore and Jameson Ave., and Lakeshore and Strachan Ave.
CRU teams routinely check street people, based on complaints from motorists plus residents objecting to wild parties in parks.
Officers enforce Ontario’s 1999 Safe Streets Act, a reaction to aggressive beggars — including some who turned violent when rebuffed.
Most of those arrested are released, their offences “considered to be a minor offence,†Zammit said. But “it’s a big problem.
“Some people object to us bothering them and say they want to give them money,†he said. “We ask them instead to offer them food.â€
Many drifters use public shelters and foodbanks, “spending the money they get on booze and drugs,†Zammit said.
Gas stations are plagued with squeegee thefts and — until they had “distinctive†marks applied — police had no way to detect a stolen one, he said.
At a busy Esso station on King St. and Strachan Ave., several motorists welcomed the police initiative, but citing company policy, the manager declined comment.
Customer Tony Leal, 38, said intersection beggars “are annoying†and should be banned unless donating to charity.
Thefts will only result in gas stations pumping up prices,†Leal added.
Anyone caught with a branded squeegee faces a charge of possessing property obtained by crime. Conviction can bring jail time, fines and probation
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/04/25/cops-target-squeegee-kids
i drove in the cne parking lot acouple times!