Private security and police officers in Washington, D.C., need to learn how to communicate with people in the community who don’t have homes.
I have seen how security guards interact with certain people when they are panhandling. Some of the areas have zoning that doesn’t let people panhandle on that property, to make sure people and local businesses feel secure. But sometimes the officers approach those folks in an aggressive way, and they shouldn’t be doing that. They pick on the people experiencing homelessness and don’t think about trying to get them help.
I saw one officer near Waterfront handle this situation in a professional way. She carried herself in a humble manner. She said, “I can get you something to eat.” But another security guard said a person was barred from CVS.
The officers that are aggressive let me know they’re not trained properly. I understand it can trigger somebody to do negative things. But when you are humble and respectful, people will give you the same respect you gave them. Whatever you put out, that’s what you are going to get back.
A person who doesn’t have a home could have a disability, and they should be treated in a respectful manner — not so aggressively. A lot of the officers are not trained to deal with people who have disabilities, who are schizophrenic, bipolar, who are afraid of certain things. When the officers come out, they treat people who may have disabilities like regular people. They don’t treat these people respectfully because they don’t understand their illnesses. This frustrates the officers. They’re trying to do their best, but they don’t have the support.
How can you engage with somebody who has a disability if you don’t know if they have one? Officers need to think past that sometimes, and be able to talk in a counselor or social worker kind of way. If you don’t know how to deal with a person like that, you make a call and get help. Sometimes officers want to do it on their own — but we don’t want you to bully nobody. Get somebody experienced in that field. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. We don’t want to disrespect nobody. Most of the time they bring people down, and that’s not good.
If we train local law enforcement how to deal with these problems, we’ll be safer.
