Trenton, NJ Public Conduct: Aggressive Panhandling (2026)

Trenton Code § 201-12 lists three prohibited acts: soliciting, asking, or begging in an aggressive manner in any public place (Subsection A); soliciting within 10 feet of the entrance or exit of a bank or check-cashing business during business hours, or within 10 feet of an ATM while it is available for customer use (Subsection B); and approaching a vehicle occupant in an aggressive manner to offer a service connected to the vehicle, such as unsolicited window-washing (Subsection C), though towing and emergency repairs requested by the driver are excluded.

Section 201-11 defines aggressive manner to include approaching or following a person if the conduct is likely to make a reasonable person fear bodily harm or loss of property, intentionally touching or making physical contact with a person or occupied vehicle without consent, intentionally blocking or interfering with a pedestrian's or vehicle's safe passage, or using violent or threatening gestures toward the person solicited. Section 201-13 exempts unenclosed ATMs inside buildings whose primary purpose is unrelated to banking, such as supermarkets or airports, as long as the machine is only available during that building's regular hours.

The City Council's findings in § 201-10 describe the article as targeting fear and intimidation, not the underlying constitutional right to beg or solicit peacefully, and note that community service is an available sentencing alternative. Violations of the article are punished under § 201-14 by the Chapter 1 general penalty at § 1-17: a fine of up to $2,000, imprisonment for up to 90 days, or up to 90 days of community service.