juliamariegd: Sp cq environment
1. Does street prostitution take place in more than one area?
- Upper and lower Scott Ave
- Outside Bars
- Roads with steady flow of traffic but little surveillance
- Near hotels
- Near vacant homes
2. What conditions make the area(s) attractive for street prostitution?
-Bars (inhibited cognition brought on by intoxication) - young college students (easily persuaded) -hotels (discrete), vacant property (discrete), - lack of surveillance
3. If street prostitution occurs in several areas, how are they similar and different?
Similar in offering privacy, difference in client-type
- habitual clients seem to prefer drive-bys to find prostitutes
- one-offs seem to involve young college kids at bars
4. What area businesses are harmed by the presence of street prostitution?
o Mia Becker owner of Spot-free Drycleaners on Scott Ave: says she is afraid to open her store and has “streetwalkers” asking to use her bathroom or phone “at least once a week”
Says she already adjusted store hours to close early, but due to loss of business, she, and others like her, may go out of business
Why is a drycleaner affected by this based on the time of day it would be normal to be open?
o Ken Harrison owner of Crafty Furniture Store
“After a long weekend, or a local sporting event, it isn’t uncommon to find used condoms littering the loading dock. Many times people have come in here saying I should call the police because they have seen an unconscious female in the area. We have seen these girls getting beat up or slapped around. I have even had good customers complain that they have been solicited on their way into the store. I am afraid my best customers are going to stop coming. And the drugs! Time and time again these women sell themselves on the street, and return a few hours later strung out on something.”
o Frank Bassell night manager of Mason Engineering
Says he has issues with employee’s cars getting broken into and blames it on prostitution
Twice he says he had to discipline employees for soliciting prostitutes during business hours (um, fire them??) and has had to routinely call the police during early morning hours to report them “hanging around the loading dock”
5. What area businesses support and/or benefit from street prostitution?
o Bars: know of the presence of prostitutes and allow them to hang out
Don Karner owner of Team Sports Bar says he doesn’t mind the girls being there if they “look OK” and “don’t create a disturbance.” Says most customers leave with one of the girls.
Mike Snead manager at Rec Plex (bar) says he gets a lot of business from college kids, many of which are “looking for a good time.” Is not sure, but would not be surprised if they start there and “end up in the lower end,” but feels unresponsible for what happens after customers leave his establishment
o Lucky bar manager Lucky Peterson allows them to socialize but says he does not allow sex acts inside but Vee Lox (prostitute) says they use Lucky’s bathroom
o Hotels: Secrete Inn
Geoff Tomson (former undercover officer, Vice Division) says a clerk at the Secrete Inn was his informant when the inn was under investigation. Says prostitutes would go in out during the night with different males, renting the same room, creating a consistent source of revenue for the hotel. Says, “The owner of the hotel pled guilty to lesser building code violations and the more serious charges were dropped.”
o Brad Wyatt owner of Package Liquor Store: says he is strict about checking for ID but does not believe it’s his business to interfere with young kids on “dates”; profits from them purchasing liquor
o Gary Conway manager of Peachtree Mall on 200 Central St: Noted that the mall, which caters to middle-class customers, had an increase in sales following the homicide of the prostitute on Scott Ave and overheard it was due to the communities fear of shopping at Scott Ave. While they are being told they should hire private security, they profit from their growing customer-base who will possibly spend more since they have to travel farther
o Donna Muzz manager of Club Elite vehemently says there’s no prostitution at their establishment, but does recognize regular female customers who come in with dates. Says she never saw anything illegal and that everyone “dresses and acts appropriately” but that she does not know about “all the other business at this end of town.”
6. Is the street prostitution market in each area old or new? Has it changed in size recently? If so, why?
One south ave resident said it got bad within the last 5 years; 35 year vet cop said it was bad even when he started and was ignored until a homicide
7. Do street prostitution areas have a reputation as being dangerous or safe for clients?
While prostitutes always run the risk of running into a client that will assault them, they all seem to know where this is more or less likely to occur. The overall consensus is that upper South Ave is safer than lower South Ave.
8. Are street prostitution areas isolated, or busy with other activities?
According to clients and prostitutes, prostitution is an isolated crime for the area. According to business owners, drug use and theft occurs in conjunction with prostitution
9. What other types of crime occur in the area? How much is related to street prostitution?
Theft and drug-use is reported by business owners, but surveillance tapes from 200-800 blocks of Scott Ave only reported prostitution.
10. If street prostitution were forced out of a target area, where would you predict it might reappear?
According to reports, anytime prostitutes are forced out or choose to relocate, the nearby neighborhoods are alerted, and one officer from South Ave stated that other neighborhoods do not tolerate it. With the original hotspot being lower South Ave, upper South Ave and Central Ave might see a rise in prostitution.