Merlin the Magician
At the Start
Police reject red-light zones
By Lucile Herve
LONDON (Reuters) - Police chiefs have rejected the idea of official red-light zones as a way of controlling the growing sex trade.
In a report on Friday, they said there was not enough proof of their success from countries such as the Netherlands which have adopted them.
The report was published by Gloucestershire Chief Constable Dr Tim Brain and has the backing of all 43 chief constables in England and Wales.
It is an attempt to improve the way officers deal with sex workers until the results of a government consultation on prostitution laws launched in July are announced.
Even if there were any move to create red light zones, the report notes, it would take several months to introduce the necessary legislation whereas police needed to "deal with priority operational problems now".
Brain emphasised that, despite figures showing the number of women cautioned for street prostitution has fallen from 3,323 in 1993 to 732 in 2001, prostitution is in fact a growing problem.
"The number of street prostitutes is rising as a result of drug addiction, and the number of off-street brothels, fronted as massage parlours or saunas, is also increasing", he said.
He said that prostitution has traditionally been a low priority for the police and for public opinion, but that the problem required a "new strategy".
The document recommends police should concentrate on the harm that was being done to prostitutes by prosecuting pimps, supporting them in finding routes out of prostitution and protecting communities affected by sex industry.
But Cari Mitchell, from the English Collective of Prostitutes, said the report did not address the basic problems.
"Police officers should rather back up prostitution decriminalisation and address the reasons why women go on the streets, like poverty or domestic violence", she told Reuters.
The government says some 80,000 women work as prostitutes, more than half of them under 25.
I heard it was popular but would NEVER use the service myself but was amazed at the figure in work (so to speak)...........
WOULD YOU!! USE THE SERVICE????
By Lucile Herve
LONDON (Reuters) - Police chiefs have rejected the idea of official red-light zones as a way of controlling the growing sex trade.
In a report on Friday, they said there was not enough proof of their success from countries such as the Netherlands which have adopted them.
The report was published by Gloucestershire Chief Constable Dr Tim Brain and has the backing of all 43 chief constables in England and Wales.
It is an attempt to improve the way officers deal with sex workers until the results of a government consultation on prostitution laws launched in July are announced.
Even if there were any move to create red light zones, the report notes, it would take several months to introduce the necessary legislation whereas police needed to "deal with priority operational problems now".
Brain emphasised that, despite figures showing the number of women cautioned for street prostitution has fallen from 3,323 in 1993 to 732 in 2001, prostitution is in fact a growing problem.
"The number of street prostitutes is rising as a result of drug addiction, and the number of off-street brothels, fronted as massage parlours or saunas, is also increasing", he said.
He said that prostitution has traditionally been a low priority for the police and for public opinion, but that the problem required a "new strategy".
The document recommends police should concentrate on the harm that was being done to prostitutes by prosecuting pimps, supporting them in finding routes out of prostitution and protecting communities affected by sex industry.
But Cari Mitchell, from the English Collective of Prostitutes, said the report did not address the basic problems.
"Police officers should rather back up prostitution decriminalisation and address the reasons why women go on the streets, like poverty or domestic violence", she told Reuters.
The government says some 80,000 women work as prostitutes, more than half of them under 25.
I heard it was popular but would NEVER use the service myself but was amazed at the figure in work (so to speak)...........
WOULD YOU!! USE THE SERVICE????
