From the Van Der Graaff Hall of Fame at Univ. of Wisconsin:
Posted on 10/30/2007 11:52:42 AM PDT by DogByte6RER
Prostitutes' photos, case details put online
Police hope it deters crime; clients' mug shots to come
By Mark Arner and Liz Neely
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS
October 30, 2007
EL CAJON – Mug shots of convicted prostitutes are appearing on the El Cajon Police Department's Web site. Police hope to discourage them from plying their trade in town using a 21st-century version of public flogging.
Pictures of 11 women, details of their crimes and areas where they are banned from loitering were posted as of yesterday. Police said they plan to add pictures of convicted “johns” – the clients – within weeks. They are urging viewers to report when the offenders violate probation.
“Our Web site is always in revision,” said El Cajon police Chief Cliff Diamond. “We have always viewed it as a good intervention tool to keep our community apprised of crime trends, wanted persons and missing persons.”
Publication of convicted criminals' mug shots is the latest of several unconventional tactics that El Cajon and other cities have tried in recent years to discourage prostitution.
Twelve years ago, the La Mesa City Council tried to stifle such activity by publishing photos of convicted “johns” in the media. In July, El Cajon and National City were among several cities statewide that were told to abandon laws allowing them to impound vehicles of motorists who tried to buy sex on the streets. That tactic ended when the state Supreme Court ruled that cities could no longer seize vehicles of people suspected of soliciting prostitution.
In El Cajon, the number of prostitution arrests has decreased since a peak of 100 in 2003, when a large number of stings were conducted. After five stings this year, 25 arrests have been made.
The goal of putting the faces of convicted prostitutes on the Web “is to move them and the crimes that come with them out of our city,” said El Cajon police Special Investigations Sgt. Mike Hook.
The tactic has drawn mixed reactions.
Marjorie Cohn, a professor at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, said the Web site violates the women's right to privacy.
“It's an incredible invasion of the privacy of the women, with no real benefit to law enforcement,” Cohn said.
For some businesses along the corridors best known for prostitution activity in El Cajon, the high-tech approach is welcome.
“I think it's a good idea because we get a lot of them hanging around here,” said John Crisp, owner of Bath-Co Shower Door on Main Street east of Johnson Avenue. “It's not good for business.”
Larry Wilson, owner of Mustang Auto on El Cajon Boulevard near Wilson Avenue, said putting the pictures on the Internet will probably discourage prostitution in El Cajon. But he also wondered how to help those arrested.
“I think it's a good idea, but what do you do?” Wilson asked. “What can we do to help these people? These girls need to get involved in a church somehow, and they'll help them turn their lives around.” The Rev. Mary Moreno Richardson, an Episcopal priest in San Diego who has publicly opposed the trafficking and sexual exploitation of women, said the department's decision to publish pictures of female offenders appeared to be selectively punishing them without trying to solve the problem.
“This story is as old as time,” Richardson said. “I think they should offer solutions and services to these women, who have already completed their sentences and paid for these crimes.”
Councilman Gary Kendrick sees it as a deterrent.
“I think someone is less likely to engage in prostitution in El Cajon if they know their picture is going to end up on our Web site,” he said.
“Prostitutes’ Photos, Case Details, Phone numbers Put Online (...)”
But getting razzed by their co-workers or - shudder - their wives/sig others might just get the point across.
On the other hand, I think she has potential.
Or as a former Commandant of The Marine Corps so eloquently put it: "It's not the fear of punishment that keeps Marines in line, it's the certainty"...
From the Van Der Graaff Hall of Fame at Univ. of Wisconsin:
For them to be able to ply their trade, people already HAVE to know they’re prostitutes, so how is this a disincentive for them? Now, put up pictures of the johns and that would be a different story.
Unless they were smart and put a couple of them in.
Giggle
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