Caldwell, ID Public Conduct: Aggressive Panhandling (2026)

Section 08-01-27, "Disorderly Conduct," lists fourteen separate behaviors, lettered A through O, that each independently constitute the offense; soliciting alms is one of them. " The word "accost" ties the violation to approaching or confronting someone, not merely being present while asking for money; the same section separately criminalizes loitering, fighting, obscene gestures, unreasonable noise, and public intoxication that presents a danger, among others, as alternate grounds for the same charge. The section does not define "accost" further or set out aggravating factors such as blocking a sidewalk, following a person, or physical contact, so Caldwell police and prosecutors apply the ordinary meaning of the word case by case.

Any violation of section 08-01-27, including the begging subsection, is a misdemeanor under subsection (2), punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment up to the maximum penalties in Idaho Code section 50-302, with either or both penalties available. The provision was last amended by Ordinance 2759 on August 18, 2008, when the city added several subsections, including the human waste and privacy-invasion offenses that now sit alongside the begging clause in the same section.