Isn’t panhandling illegal in this town?

[Mornac]

If it is, then why do I see the same people day after day standing in the same intersections with paper cups shaking down citizens at stop lights? Are the cops afraid of these folks for some reason? I was under the impression that we had taxpayer-funded, city-sponsored homeless shelters where the downtrodden could be fed and bedded as often as they showed up at the door. Why do we have to put up with this sort of eyesore? If I were to call the police each time I saw a panhandler working his corner, would I get any reaction at all?