Amy

A highly visible police presence, typically with extra uniformed officers, is intended to discourage area street prostitution. Extra police presence is expensive, of course, and is effective only if the police follow it up with more permanent strategies. It can also create the perception that the area is unsafe. Alternative methods to establish a police presence are to open a police station (e.g., a storefront office, mobile office or kiosk) in the area, or affix antiprostitution warning signs to police vehicles patrolling the area. Private security forces might also be deployed to supplement a police presence.

The two most radical responses to street prostitution are legalization and decriminalization. Whatever their merits and drawbacks, neither approach is likely to be politically feasible in the foreseeable future in the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom.