Memphis, TN - Thursday night and it's business as usual on Beale Street for Memphis' veteran panhandlers.

"We were actually approached a couple of times," says tourist Sherry Kilgore.

She and her husband Pat are visiting the Bluff City from Lebanon, Pennsylvania.  And in a matter of minutes, they experienced aggressive panhandling at its' worst.

"It's still light out," says Pat Kilgore, "so I wasn't afraid of being assaulted.  It was just a matter of waiting for the line and dealing with it when it came."

"We're just not used to that at home," says Sherry, "so it felt a little uncomfortable."

The Kilgore's encounter on Beale Street isn't uncommon for visitors to Memphis or to downtown residents and business people.  And that's upsetting to Jeff Sanford, the president of the Center City Commission.

"We're very concerned about it," Sanford says of Memphis' panhandling problem.   So serious is the problem, he says, that the CCC on Friday, February 22,  2008, is expected to approve a $53,000 plan to put private security guards on patrol through the downtown area.

It hasn't been decided how many guards will be hired or if they'll be armed with guns or tasers.

They would be part of a three month pilot program tested April 1st through June 30th along Main Street from the Cook Convention Center down to Beale Street and on streets just east and west of Main.

"Downtown is getting a bad name from aggressive panhandlers," says Sanford.  "And our research from cities like New York and Fort Worth, Texas shows that uniformed security walking the streets deters that kind of behavior."

But Jacob Flowers, executive director of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, says security guards won't solve the city's real problem of homelessness.

"We think the $60,000 spent on just a three month trial would be better used to fund rehab centers or mental health facilities," says Flowers, "or to provide social services for people who are out on the street."

Flowers says the center's research shows a majority of panhandlers in Memphis are homeless, a direct contradiction from the information the head of the CCC says his agency has gathered.

"99-percent of them, by our estimates and others," says Sanford, "are not homeless."

CCC leaders insist this war is on panhandling and the agency is still dedicated to helping get the homeless into programs that can help them turn their lives around.

"We're not out to hassle the homeless," says Sanford.  "It's as simple as that."

"We think it's a misguided plan," counters Flowers.  "We need to funnel the homeless into social programs not into the criminal justice system which is what private security will do."

Back on Beale Street, the Kilgore's see plenty of Memphis Police squad cars but very few officers walking the beat.

"I think private security would help visitors to your city," says Sherry Kilgore.  "I believe it would."

The Kilgores say they won't let a little panhandling keep them from coming back to Memphis for another visit.  But given the choice:

"I think private security would be nice," says Pat Kilgore.  "I don't know that
they'll be able to stop all of it.  I think it certainly will make people feel more comfortable."

The Center City Commission's board is expected to vote on the downtown security plan during its' next meeting on Friday, February 22, 2008 at noon.

What do you think? It's your turn to Speak Up! Memphis.