Posted Wednesday, February 13, 2019 5:11 pm

Daytona Beach, FL - 33 people end up in jail on panhandling charges following the passing of a brand new ordinance.

When the new Daytona Beach panhandling ordinance was approved last week (February 6th), it wasn't exactly clear at the time when enforcement would begin.

But Daytona Beach police actually began enforcing the new ordinance just 24 hours after its passage.

Some of those arrested were also charged with drug and drug paraphernalia possession and resisting arrest without violence.

One panhandler, 37-year-old Shah Ullah, told police that they were "already dead" as he was being arrested, per the report from Daytona Beach police.

Daytona Beach Police Chief Craig Capri says the 33 arrests are actually less than he expected in the first week following the passage of the ordinance.

"We've had, at any given time, well over 100+ panhandlers at different intersections throughout the city," Capri added.

Improvements came early, according to Chief Capri, noting that within the first 48 hours of the passing and within 24 hours of Daytona Beach enforcing the ordinance, there was a significant drop in panhandlers city-wide.

DBPD even went as far as to showcase the changes on their Facebook page, calling it the "24 Hour Challenge."

Capri also said that Daytona Beach police isn't trying to "arrest their way" out of this problem.

"We just want to make our streets safer, our community safer for our citizens, visitors and businesses," said Chief Capri.

One problem Daytona was having with panhandlers, according to Capri, is that people sometimes confused them with the homeless.

"Most of the panhandlers are not homeless," said Capri. "I've seen them pull up in nice cars, get dropped off in van loads. It's an organized scheme to defraud."