Newspaper Articles
This method cost 2%.
The recent death of a suspected prostitute spurred a number of articles in the local newspaper, including two editorials. The overall tone of the articles were accusatory, blaming the mayor and police for inaction. Skepticism is high even though the mayor’s plan to combat the problem has been widely publicized. The outside consultant hired by the mayor has given several short interviews describing the problem-oriented policing process that he will use to analyze the growing prostitution problem. The community is concerned that the time involved in a thorough analysis will allow the problem to spin out of control.
Response Revealed
Impose community service sentences in lieu of incarceration or fines.
Show/Hide DetailsCommunity service sanctions, when properly monitored and enforced, have been shown to be more effective than jail time or fines alone.
Response Revealed
Conduct sweeps.
Show/Hide DetailsSweeps are large-scale arrest campaigns targeting suspected prostitutes without the intent to prosecute. Sweeps have long been a police strategy to control street prostitution, particularly when they have had few legal alternatives for dealing with the problem, yet have been pressured to do something about it. There is little evidence that sweeps are anything other than temporarily effective at removing prostitutes from the street, and they do considerable harm to the integrity of the criminal justice system. It is not uncommon for police to arrest innocent people during sweeps.
