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As noted previously, street prostitution markets depend on other businesses to support them. The police and other enforcement agencies can exert pressure on those businesses to discourage their support of street prostitution by enforcing civil laws and business regulations. Some communities prohibit motels and hotels from renting rooms for short periods (i.e., at hourly rates), and require them to record guests' identities through positive proof of identification, thus discouraging their use by prostitutes and clients. Zoning regulations that restrict the sorts of businesses that support street prostitution, such as adult entertainment, can be effective. Zoning restrictions have been key in the major redevelopment of Times Square in New York City, where street prostitution has significantly declined. The police and private parties can file nuisance abatement actions against businesses that support prostitution. You should get advice and support from legal counsel to pursue these options.

Working with other institutions, you can target education and warning messages to groups especially likely to become involved in prostitution, as either prostitutes or clients.

Certain groups are especially vulnerable to being recruited or drawn to street prostitution, among them juvenile offenders, juvenile runaways and juveniles in group homes (residential custody). Young people who are at high risk for being recruited into prostitution usually have multiple critical social and psychological problems that require attention if they are to be kept out of prostitution.

Among the high-risk client groups are male conventioneers, male soldiers, and previously arrested clients. The education and warning information can be conveyed through letters, lectures, video presentations, billboards, warning signs, or media outlets. A growing number of jurisdictions have established court-ordered education programs for convicted clients. These so-called "john schools" confront prostitution clients about the consequences of their behavior. They usually include information about the legal and health consequences for clients, the impact of street prostitution on the community, and the negative effects of prostitution on prostitutes. Recidivism rates for clients who participate in court-ordered education programs are low (around 2% to 7%). It is less clear what added deterrent value there is in the education program beyond what is achieved by any official intervention, from a warning to an arrest.

The main strategy police use to control street prostitution is enforcing laws prohibiting soliciting, patronizing, and loitering for the purposes of prostitution. Street prostitutes can be valuable informants to police about other crimes, and the threat of enforcement gives the police leverage for information. In some jurisdictions, controlling street prostitution is left to the vice squad. Limiting patrol officers' involvement is intended to reduce corruption, but it can give the public the impression that only corrupt officers would ignore the problem. Historically, the police have arrested far more prostitutes than clients, although some police agencies have shifted toward a more balanced enforcement strategy, targeting clients as well as prostitutes. To promote a consistent response and improve the chances for successful prosecutions, police agencies should prepare written guidelines to govern how and under what circumstances they will enforce prostitution laws.

Enforcement strategies are expensive; each arrest costs thousands of dollars to process. By themselves, they are ineffective at either controlling street prostitution or protecting prostitutes from harm. Increased police enforcement temporarily reduces the number of prostitutes on the street, but they usually reappear in new areas. This may actually increase street prostitution in the long term by creating new opportunities for prostitutes and potential clients to meet. While the severity of the penalties against prostitutes does appear to affect the volume of prostitution, modest fines against prostitutes may actually force them to commit more prostitution to pay the fines. Prostitutes who are prosecuted are usually convicted, but many of them fail to show up for court hearings. Most prostitutes consider the costs of being arrested a business expense and an inconvenience, but not a significant deterrent.

Street prostitutes typically need help if they are to quit prostitution. They often need drug and alcohol treatment, mental health treatment, transitional housing, case management, peer support/mentoring, child care, job training, health care, confidential HIV testing, psychological counseling, transportation, self-defense training, legal aid, and employment assistance.

Some communities offer a service-and-support network through either precharge or postcharge diversion programs, and some even offer these programs on the street, with no formal connection to the criminal justice system. Although these programs do not necessarily persuade many prostitutes to quit, they seem essential for those who are motivated to do so, and they can be effective in reducing some of the risks to street prostitutes, such as sexually transmitted disease and assault.

Some communities have enhanced penalties for prostitution-related offenses committed within specific geographic areas. These penalty enhancements are intended to move the street prostitution market to other locations so the target area can be redeveloped. You should be careful that the problem is not displaced to areas where the impact will be even worse.