Prostitution
What's old is new again.
At last night's meeting of the Southern District Police and Community Relations Council, Terry Hickey briefed residents on several interesting ideas to combat prostitution, a persistent problem in many city neighborhoods including Brooklyn and Curtis Bay.
Hickey, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law, talked about a prostitution court, a school for Johns and bringing back an initiative called Operation Relentless.
Baltimore police in the Southern District tried Operation Relentless in 1999 but it never quite got off the ground. The idea was to have residents record license plate numbers of men driving suspiciously, such as circling the block or talking to prostitutes, and sending the information to police. They would then send letters on police stationary to the owners warning them that their vehicles had been seen driven by somebody suspected of "illegal drug or prostitution activity."
The residents loved it. Defense lawyers were concerned that names of innocent people could end up in police files as potential criminal suspects based on the untrained observations of city residents.
Don't people have the right to circle or stop on a public street without their names showing up in a police file, and then shared with others?
On the other hand, don't residents have the right to live in peace without having women solicit men in front of homes?
Residents at last night's meeting applauded when Hickey said Operation Relentless might be revived to combat a problem that law enforcement hasn't found a way to resolve. Most people liked the fact it targeted the men rather than women. Hickey said he is awaiting final approval from the Baltimore Police Department. I have a call into them to determine where this program stands.
I'll follow up and I'd love to hear from you on this.
Comments
It is a little troubling to receive a letter like this in the mail when you were just riding around the block looking for a parking space, but I guess a few errant letters are ok if it reduces prostitution in the area.
Posted by: J | August 22, 2008 4:16 PM
Operation Relentless really did work.
Image an adoring wife waiting at home alone thinking her husband is working late again. Then suddenly a letter from the police department arrives saying someone in their car was seen frequenting an area where prostitutes work. Let's just say the program did help clear the streets. We can hope the program is started again.
Posted by: Jack Baker | August 22, 2008 4:17 PM
Our blog has definitely slowed john traffic down in parts of Pigtown, although it certainly has not gone away.
Posted by: BJW | August 22, 2008 4:29 PM
Thanks for all your comments. I just heard from Terry Hickey who provides a little update and some more context. I'll be following this issue next week.
Posted by: Peter Hermann | August 22, 2008 4:51 PM
I think it's great. Funny how the people who will complain the loudest are usually the ones who are committing the crimes.
Posted by: Nobjforyou | August 24, 2008 6:00 PM
t think its a great idea because when weather is nice me and neghibors and my mom go out side and try to keep our neghiborhood ivilize ,it keep the prostution down if we all get to get together .the crime will stop to so yes it dose work . thanks neghborhood block watch jess.
Posted by: jessica | January 31, 2011 9:51 PM