Center for Problem-Oriented Policing

Summary of Responses to Street Prostitution

The table below summarizes the responses to street prostitution, the mechanism by which they are intended to work, the conditions under which they ought to work best, and some factors you should consider before implementing a particular response. It is critical that you tailor responses to local circumstances, and that you can justify each response based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will involve implementing several different responses. Law enforcement responses alone are seldom effective in reducing or solving the problem.

Response No.	Response	How It Works	Works Best If...	Considerations
Deterring Prostitutes and Clients
1	Enforcing laws prohibiting soliciting, patronizing and loitering for the purposes of prostitution	Temporarily removes prostitutes and clients from the streets	…there are follow-up programs to help prostitutes quit or switch to indoor venues, and enforcement is combined with other effective responses	Strategy is expensive; has only a short-term impact; may increase prostitution by displacing the problem to new locations, and by compelling prostitutes to work more to pay fines
1a	Enforcing laws prohibiting prostitution and the solicitation thereof	Temporarily removes prostitutes and clients from the streets; increases the costs of business; deters arrested clients from reoffending	…a prosecution will result in meaningfuldifficult sanctions against the prostitute, and the pool of potential clients is relatively small	Strategy is expensive; to obtain admissible evidence; jail time is usually limited or none; discourages prostitutes from calling police when they are victims; creates additional incentives to engage in prostitution to pay fines; prosecutors may elect not to prosecute; the population of potential clients is large enough that general deterrence is difficult to achieve solely by arrest strategies; arresting clients requires a sufficient number of female police officers; undercover assignment not popular among police
1b	Enforcing laws prohibiting conduct associated with prostitution and the solicitation thereof	Deters prostitutes from soliciting and clients from searching for prostitutes on the streets, without requiring proof of actual sexual transactions	…a prosecution will result in meaningful difficult sanctions against the prostitute, and the pool of potential clients is relatively small	Legality (courts have struck down such laws for being either vague or overly broad); the population of potential clients is large enough that general deterrence is difficult to achieve solely by arrest strategies
1c	Intensively enforcing prostitution laws against prostitutes and/or clients for short periods	Temporarily removes prostitutes from the streets; deters potential clients from frequenting the area	…there is media coverage, and the campaign is followed by changes to the environment where the street prostitution occurs	Media coverage can have the opposite effect of promoting prostitution by advertising the location of prostitution prostitution strolls; may increase the risk of harm faced by prostitutes by forcing them to work in unfamiliar areas
2	Establishing a highly visible police presence	Discourages both prostitutes and clients from negotiations	…it is followed by changes to the environment where street prostitution occurs	Labor-intensive; creates the perception that the area is unsafe
3	Relaxing the regulation of indoor prostitution venues	Gives street prostitutes some incentive to relocate to indoors	...street prostitutes are able to work indoors	May be perceived as condoning prostitution; in concern to police for their role in sexual door venues are of serious exploitation of trafficked women
4	Enhancing fines/penalties for prostitution- related offenses committed within specified high- activity zones	Displaces the street prostitution market from a particular area	…it is followed by changes to the environment where street prostitution occurs	Displacement may be to areas where the impact is even worse
5	Banning prostitutes or clients from certain areas	Reduces the opportunities for prostitutes and clients to solicit and patronize	…there is adequate monitoring of bans and good physical descriptions of offenders	Requires legal authority; may displace prostitutes to new areas outside the prohibited zone, which, if remote, may prove more hazardous to them
6	Using community justice panels and community service sentences in lieu of incarceration or fines	Creates meaningful consequences for prostitutes' and clients' offending; consumes prostitutes' time	…there is adequate monitoring of compliance with sentences, and community members are willing to serve on panels	Requires monitoring by the court and corrections officials
7	Enlisting community members to provide surveillance or to publicly protest against prostitutes or clients	Creates the impression that offenders will be constantly monitored and reported; increases the pressure on public officials to address the problem	…the community is willing to sustain protests and remain lawful, and police maintain supervision and oversight	Risks of overzealousness (vigilantism); displacement to other locations; street patrols require committed leaders to recruit, organize, and mobilize members
8	Educating and warning high-risk prostitute and client populations	Deters young people from getting into prostitution; discourages potential clients; education programs for arrested clients deter repeat offending	…there is evidence of the recruitment of prostitutes from target populations, the messages are carefully tailored to the target audience, and there are adequate resources to run education programs	Young people at seriously high risk usually have several critical social problems that require attention if they are to be kept out of prostitution; costs of running programs; adequate deterrence may be achieved by any form of official intervention; schools do not target clients at highest risk of violence
Response No.	Response	How It Works	Works Best If...	Considerations
Targeting Prostitutes
9	Serving restraining orders/civil injunctions against habitual prostitutes	Effectively controls and deters the activities of large numbers of prostitutes working in a particular area; conserves police resources by focusing on the most problematic offenders	…complainants are willing to file for court orders, and there are small numbers of chronic offenders	Labor-intensive and costly to document people and activities; legality varies by jurisdiction
10	Mediating conflicts between prostitutes and the community	Keeps prostitutes away from the areas of highest citizen complaints, or from engaging in the most offensive behaviors	…the community is willing to tolerate some level of street prostitution	Difficult to get prostitutes to adhere to agreements
11	Imposing curfews on prostitutes	Restricts prostitutes' working hours	…there are short periods during which street prostitution is most prevalent	Requires a judicial order as a condition of bail or probation; requires monitoring by police or corrections officials
12	Helping prostitutes to quit	Provides prostitutes with support services to enable them to leave prostitution; health screening and education prevents the spread of sexually transmitted diseases	…programs are prostitution-specific and easily accessible, and there are sufficient sanctions for noncompliance	Street prostitutes, especially juveniles and those managed by pimps, are difficult to persuade; privacy considerations; prostitutes can be hard to reach and/or reluctant to accept treatment (e.g., for fear of losing custody of their children)
13	Encouraging prostitutes to report serious offenses to the police	Improves the police ability to investigate serious offenses that might otherwise go unreported and/or unsolved	…police can establish a sufficient level of trust among prostitutes	Prostitutes' giving evidence against pimps increases the risks of violent retaliation
14	Helping prostitutes avoid dangerous clients and situations	Reduces the risk of physical assaults to prostitutes	…police can establish a sufficient level of trust among prostitutes	Police can be accused of condoning prostitution
Response No.	Response	How It Works	Works Best If...	Considerations
Targeting Clients
15	Exposing clients to publicity	Shames clients to deter them from re-offending; discourages potential clients	…the community and media support public shaming, and most clients solicit from vehicles	Media reluctance to publicize information deemed unnewsworthy; risks arousing suspicions against innocent people; legal restrictions; privacy concerns; the potential for geographic displacement; deterrent value is lost after first exposure
16	Notifying those with influence over clients' conduct	Creates meaningful consequences for clients' conduct	…clients are influenced by informal social controls	The penalty (e.g., getting fired) may be harsher than some believe is fair
17	Restricting clients' ability to drive	Deters curb-crawling (driving at a slow speed with the primary purpose of observing and/or making contact with a prostitute)	...most clients solicit from vehicles	Legal challenges and restrictions; low rates of compliance with license suspensions and revocations
Response No.	Response	How It Works	Works Best If...	Considerations
Changing the Environment
18	Closing streets and alleys, diverting traffic, or regulating parking	Increases the difficulty for clients to find and negotiate with prostitutes	…the community the changes affect supports them, and most clients solicit from vehicles	Potentially costly; can harm residential and legitimate commercial traffic; may lock the problem in rather than forcing it out, by creating an inaccessible enclave; slowing traffic may be conducive to curb-crawling
19	Enforcing zoning, nuisance abatement, and business license regulations against properties used for prostitution	Restricts the availability of locations for sexual activities; discourages the use of motels and hotels for prostitution	…sexual transactions take place on properties subject to regulation	Civil law processes can be cumbersome and unfamiliar to police; requires support from government lawyers
20	Warning property owners about the use of their premises for prostitution	Improves property owners' capacity or willingness to prohibit prostitution-related activities on their property	…sexual transactions take place on those properties	Some property owners may feel they are being unfairly accused
21	Redeveloping the area economy	Promotes legitimate activity to displace illegitimate activity	…improvements will substantially change the conditions that allow street prostitution to flourish	Costly in the short term; potential displacement to more vulnerable areas
22	Securing abandoned buildings	Keeps prostitutes and clients from having private places for sexual transactions	…sexual transactions take place in abandoned buildings	Costs of securing buildings; potential displacement to other locations
23	Enhancing surveillance with improved lighting and CCTV	Improves the area's appearance; improves natural surveillance to deter prostitution	…lighting is inadequate, and sexual transactions take place in dark, secluded places	Costs of lighting; may backfire by increasing perceptions of safety and drawing more activity to the area
24	Providing trash cans	Encourages the proper disposal of hazardous items	…they are placed near where sexual transactions occur	Must be emptied regularly; police may be accused of condoning prostitution
Response No.	Response	How It Works	Works Best If...	Considerations
Responses With Limited Effectiveness
25	Conducting sweeps	Temporarily removes prostitutes and clients from the streets		Undermines the criminal justice system and police integrity; the risks of arresting innocent people
26	Harassing and intimidating prostitutes	Discourages prostitutes from offending		Undermines police integrity; geographically displaces the problem
27	Suspending or revoking government aid to prostitutes	Encourages prostitutes to quit	…prostitutes are receiving significant amounts of aid without reporting prostitution income, and aid agencies are willing to take action	Implications for dependent children; requires adequate social service follow-up; may have opposite effect of promoting more prostitution to replace lost income
28	Establishing formal or informal red-light districts where street prostitution is tolerated	Reduces nuisance complaints; increases the police ability to monitor street prostitution and related crime	…the community is willing to tolerate some level of street prostitution, and the red-light district can be adequately policed and will not attract additional clients from other communities	Legality (ruled unconstitutional in Canada as a local option); the expansion of street prostitution out of the tolerance zones; lack of public support; ineffective in reducing nuisance complaints or harm to prostitutes under some conditions;
29	Legalizing and decriminalizing prostitution	Legalization subjects prostitution to administrative regulation		Not politically feasible in foreseeable future in the United States, United Kingdom, or Canada

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Summary of Responses to Street Prostitution

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