Simplified: As the City of Sioux Falls gives police more authority in interacting with the unhoused population, Police Chief Jon Thum admits homelessness is not something that can ever be solved by law enforcement.
- Thum, as well as other city officials and experts, chatted with Sioux Falls Simplified about the challenge of balancing – as the chief put it – "compassion and accountability" in handling "nuisance behaviors" downtown, especially when those behaviors intersect with homelessness.
Why it matters
- City Councilors recently approved two ordinances that give police a stronger leg to stand on in asking people blocking sidewalks or roadways to “move along” downtown or to remove them from libraries if they’re drinking or have booze on them.
- Experts at the national homelessness law center say they see these changes as a red flag and, potentially, a step in the wrong direction in terms of criminalizing homelessness.
- But Thum said it’s not about criminalizing homelessness, it’s about holding people accountable for their behaviors. He said it’s not OK to, for example, pass out on the sidewalk blocking pedestrian traffic or drunkenly yell at a worker at a downtown business.
- He also said the disorderly conduct changes will give police more latitude to respond to the specific situations they encounter.
“Even the ‘please move along,’ – that just gives us more authority to exercise that judgment,” Thum told Sioux Falls Simplified after the council approved the first reading of the disorderly conduct ordinance changes.
Tell me more
With all of these conversations, there’s the underlying complex reality that every person experiencing homelessness has a unique set of circumstances, needs and challenges they’re facing. The vast majority of people experiencing homelessness are not the same people causing so-called “nuisance behaviors.”
Homelessness Coordinator Michelle Treasure said it’s a very “sensitive and controversial topic.” In city discussions, she said she’s focusing on the intentions behind the messages people are sending.
“Are the intentions that Mayor Paul (TenHaken) wants to drive all homeless individuals out of Sioux Falls, absolutely not,” Treasure said. “I know that about him. I know that about Chief Thum. … This is all stuff that just has to be managed as being elected officials.”
What’s the reality of homelessness in Sioux Falls?
South Dakota Housing data showed 610 people in Sioux Falls were homeless during a point-in-time count in late January.
- Sioux Falls has about 45% of the unhoused population in the state compared to about 30% of the overall population of the state
- That’s largely because Sioux Falls has a higher concentration of resources for unhoused people – nonprofits, shelter beds, addiction and mental health resources, etc.
“If you can’t make it in Watertown or Brookings or Huron or somewhere else, we know there’s a facility here that can help you," Thum said. "And it's not malicious intent, but it is trying to get people to where they want to be.”
So, yes, there are people coming here to access those resources, but there’s not some “grand conspiracy” of people being “bussed in,” he said. That said, the city is anecdotally seeing more people who are coming from out of town and out of state.
A very small percentage of the unhoused community overall is part of the “nuisance behaviors,” though, Thum said.
“There’s plenty of people operating within the system who are abiding by the rules and doing it right,” Thum said. “However this is the group that we’re left with.”
OK, so let’s talk panhandling
You’re going to see more communication and marketing from the city encouraging people not to give money to people they see on the street.
It’s part of a last-minute addendum to the 2025 budget that provided for a $150,000 marketing campaign to educate the public about giving to charities rather than directly to people asking for money.
Panhandling is a right that’s been upheld in federal court, which is why you won’t see it expressly prohibited in any city or state ordinance.
However, the city has taken a number of steps to discourage panhandling, including:
- Banning people from standing in certain city intersections – a change billed as a “pedestrian safety” measure that does, in effect, limit panhandling in those intersections.
- Mayor Paul TenHaken and Chief Thum have publicly spoken out against panhandling.
- TenHaken has gone on record with Pigeon605 saying, “Those aren’t homeless people. Those are people who quite honestly have houses and cars and are panhandling because it’s good money."
- Meanwhile Thum said, “giving money is supporting addiction,” and keeping people in dangerous cycles.
Treasure said though she doesn’t have hard proof, she knows anecdotally that at least some of the people who are panhandling are treating it almost like a job.
“They’re just taking advantage of the community – taking their money when people are giving assuming they’re in need,” she said.
Panhandling remains protected, though, as Councilor Curt Soehl noted in Tuesday’s meeting in which councilors gave unanimous final approval to the updated disorderly conduct ordinance.
“The city attorney has been very involved in drafting these ordinance to make sure they’re not going to run afoul of the constitution,” Soehl said. “I feel very confident these two things are a step forward in Sioux Falls to keep our city safe and clean.”
Is it really all that bad to give to panhandlers?
That depends on who you ask.
TenHaken and Thum will tell you that money is likely going straight from your pocket to a liquor store.
Will Knight, decriminalization director for the National Homelessness Law Center, said of course it’s OK to help out someone who’s begging for money on the sidewalk.
- He also noted the challenges people face nationwide in finding long-term affordable housing and even temporary shelter.
“If you have a few bucks, give them a few bucks,” Knight said. “There’s nothing wrong with helping a human being in need.”
Eric Weber, CEO of the Union Gospel Mission, said he’s not a person who wants to just give money. He'd rather help them through UGM's programs.
“I’m like, give them a fishing pole and teach them how to fish,” Weber said.
That said, he also sees the kind of people who actually give money to folks they see on the street – the poor, themselves.
“You know who hands $5 to the guy on the corner?” Weber said. “It’s the guy who’s driving a $3,000 beater who sees a guy and was in his shoes at one time.”
Treasure said you’re better off giving to local charities – a message those charities also support, she noted.
“The providers that are boots on the ground, in the weeds with people – they also are in support of this,” Treasure said. “We’re looking at just trying to find solutions. We, too, want to be good partners in this.”
So, what can we do?
Remember that homelessness isn't a crime, panhandling isn't a crime, and a very small percentage of people who are unhoused are part of the "nuisance behaviors" the police and community see.
There are also a number of ways to support local charities who are focused on connecting people with housing and/or sheltering them in the interim, such as UGM, the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House, the St. Francis House, and Minnehaha County's Synergy program.
If you need housing assistance, call the 211 Helpline.
