Kinston Police say the city has seen a noticeable increase in panhandling over the past several months, along with a rise in camping, littering, and overnight gatherings at Pearson Park and Tiffany West Park. In a public statement, the department made clear that while begging on its own remains legal, aggressive behavior, harassment, and obstruction will not be tolerated.
What Kinston Police Are and Aren't Allowed to Do
The statement, posted to the department's Facebook page Friday, walks a careful legal line. According to the Kinston Police Department, panhandling is protected under the First Amendment, and officers have limited to no authority over panhandling that occurs on private property. That constraint traces back to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 ruling in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, which held that speech restrictions based on topic face strict legal scrutiny — a decision that, per the Free Speech Center, led federal courts nationwide to strike down standalone municipal panhandling bans as unconstitutional.
Because of that legal reality, Kinston officers are instead leaning on neutral safety statutes. Under North Carolina General Statutes § 20-175, pedestrians are barred from standing or loitering in traveled roadways, medians, or shoulders to solicit contributions if doing so impedes traffic, and the same statute lets local governments pass their own ordinances restricting roadway solicitation. Kinston police say they will enforce existing laws covering roadway safety, harassment, disorderly conduct, and trespassing, and that individuals refusing to leave private property may be subject to a trespass complaint if the property owner or manager requests enforcement.
Business Owners Report Aggressive Encounters Downtown
The department says local business owners have reported individuals approaching customers, blocking entrances, and engaging in threatening or disruptive behavior, and that the downtown business district has experienced aggressive solicitation. Kinston Police describe their role in public safety as significant, and say the city aims to remain a safe, clean, and welcoming community while also protecting the rights of all individuals.
Park Rules and the Push for a New Ordinance
Pearson Park, at 300 W. North St. along the Neuse River, and Tiffany West Park are both intended for youth, families, and community events, and both are officially closed from dusk until dawn under city rules. Kinston Police say they will enforce those posted hours and other park rules, and that individuals camping in either park will be asked to leave, as will those loitering after hours. Anyone damaging park property may face enforcement action if they refuse to leave, the department says.
Kinston is now evaluating whether to adopt its own aggressive panhandling ordinance, following a template used in several other North Carolina cities. The statement points to Charlotte, Fayetteville, Wilmington, and Hickory as cities that already use such ordinances. Charlotte's city council voted 7-3 in February 2024 to recriminalize six quality-of-life ordinances — including median strip solicitation, public urination, and sleeping in city parks — making violations Class 3 misdemeanors, according to the City of Charlotte. Fayetteville's council approved a similar public safety ordinance by the same 7-3 margin in April 2025, making it a Class 3 misdemeanor punishable by fines up to $50 to block sidewalks, streets, or building entrances, per the City of Fayetteville.
Not every city has gone the enforcement route. Wilmington repealed its panhandling restrictions in 2020 after a First Amendment challenge, and instead launched a “There's a Better Way to Give” campaign in 2023, using downtown QR code signage to redirect public donations to United Way homelessness programs, according to Port City Daily. Lumberton took a stricter approach, approving an ordinance in January 2024 that bans solicitation within 25 feet of banks, ATMs, bus stops, and crosswalks, as reported by the Border Belt Independent, though local advocates pushed back, arguing the rule penalizes low-income residents who lack access to identification or traditional employment.
Any New Rule Would Require a Council Vote
If Kinston wants tougher penalties, its city council would have to act first. North Carolina's 2021 criminal justice reform, Session Law 2021-138, eliminated criminal misdemeanor prosecution as the automatic default for municipal code violations, meaning city councils must explicitly vote to recriminalize specific conduct before Class 3 misdemeanor penalties can apply. That is the same procedural step Charlotte's council took in 2024 before its ordinance carried criminal weight.
Police Say Enforcement Alone Won't Solve Homelessness
Kinston Police were direct in acknowledging the limits of their role, stating plainly that the department cannot solve homelessness alone. The statement describes homelessness as a complex issue involving multiple agencies, and says the department will continue working with partners to connect individuals to services whenever possible. Those partners include county social services, faith-based organizations, mental-health providers, city government, and nonprofits — a network that locally includes the Kinston Housing Authority, Kinston InterChurch OutReach, and Friends of the Homeless Shelter, according to the Kinston Housing Authority.
The issue arrives as Kinston has already seen homelessness-related crime make headlines this month; Hoodline previously reported on a mail theft targeting a shelter. Residents looking to weigh in on enforcement and services can do so directly at Kinston's monthly PACE — Police And Community Engagement — meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, August 26, at 115 E. North St., where the Chief of Police and residents discuss public safety initiatives and community resources.
