Beverly Hills recently adopted a one-year pilot program to respond to incidents of “aggressive panhandling” in the business districts. The city council unanimously approved hiring Block by Block, a private ambassador service company, to provide additional “eyes and ears” on the streets to help reduce intimidation of customers and disruption of commerce. Ambassadors can help identify individuals who are homeless and in need of the city’s homeless outreach team.

The company will staff the business triangle with uniformed ambassadors for 21 hours each day.

The firm will work with law enforcement and other city departments, as well as businesses in the area.

The city has a number of policies in place that deal with aggressive panhandling and related quality-of-life issues.

But according to the 2015 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, the number of homeless individuals in the area comprising Beverly Hills, Culver City, West L.A., Santa Monica and Malibu went up 17 percent in the past two years.

Most who experience incidents of aggressive panhandling are unwilling to fill out a police report.

Ambassadors can witness and serve as the victim in court proceedings.

Patrollers of parking structures are supposed to identify homeless individuals and link them with appropriate services to reduce issues.

The program was researched and recommended by the Human Relations Commission, and is similar to programs in other local communities such as Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Pasadena.

The budget for the program is $500,000.

For information, contact City of Beverly Hills Human Services.