The majority of Dallas residents continue to consider the abundance of homelessness, vagrancy, and panhandling a serious issue in the city, suggests a recent poll by The Dallas Express.
Over 52% of respondents answered “yes” when asked if “homelessness, vagrancy, and panhandling are serious problems in Dallas.” Inversely, only 29% answered “no,” and roughly 18% disclosed that they were unsure.
When this poll was conducted in December, 63% of all residents indicated that they believed the issue to be a severe problem, and only 19% disagreed. The percentage of people who did not know what they thought stayed the same.
In January’s survey, however, the group that considered homelessness, vagrancy, and panhandling to be the most serious were self-identified centrists. Over 62% of those respondents thought the problem was serious, while only 28% did not.
Following that group were those self-identifying as “center-left,” with 52% believing those issues to be problematic. Only 19% of this demographic did not have that conviction.
“Center-right” came next, with 50% thinking these issues represent a major obstacle for Dallas. Nearly 35% did not, however, and 15% were undecided on the matter.
Interestingly, the two groups with the smallest amount of people considering homelessness, vagrancy, and panhandling to be problematic were the “far left” and “far right.” Nevertheless, a plurality of both demographics still considered the issues to be serious.
Of respondents self-identifying as “far left,” 43% thought the issue was serious, while 26% disagreed. Over 30%, however, were unsure.
Amongst those who self-identified as “far right,” only 13% of respondents were unsure, with the rest split nearly down the middle. Almost 47% considered homelessness, vagrancy, and panhandling big issues, while 40% rejected the premise.
Currently, the City of Dallas has sought to combat these issues through programs costing tens of millions of taxpayer dollars with limited results. Additionally, the City has instructed residents not to give money to panhandlers and recently passed an ordinance fining people who loiter on street medians.
In 2022, a survey of residents in downtown Dallas suggested the issue was even more urgent, with 76% of respondents complaining that homelessness was a serious problem. Mayor Eric Johnson noted in his State of the City address that combating the “scourge of homelessness” would be one of his top priorities.
Safety issues resulting from the homeless and vagrant populations have also prompted increased concerns. Last year, nearly 5,000 people believed to be homeless were arrested in Dallas County, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Business owners have hired private security in some cases to provide more safety for customers, with one entrepreneur, Nick Karr, suggesting to The Dallas Express, “The City really is not taking care of these people and is forcing us to deal with it.”
However, whistleblowers from the Highland Park Police Department have allegedly claimed that they have been told not to enforce laws against the homeless and vagrants, according to a recent report in The Dallas Express.