NCJ Number
212287
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 45 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2005 Pages: 877-895
Date Published
November 2005
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the developments in the policing of prostitution in England and Wales over the last decade and identifies emerging trends in the regulation of prostitution.
Abstract
There has been a shift away from a strict enforcement model linked to the operation of specialist vice squads which were originally set up in the 1970s and 1980s to focus specifically on the issue of prostitution. In the 1990s, a number of the specialist units have been disbanded or downsized and some of those remaining units have experienced a change of focus and now deal with issues such as pornography, Internet crime, and pedophilia. The reduction in the size of these specialist units is due in some cases to the decrease in the numbers of women involved in the street trade, and in other areas, the changes have been due to the changing of police priorities. However, there is a discernible trend in the policing of street prostitution which involves several components to a greater or lesser degree and include: (1) a shift of focus away from the female prostitutes and towards the male kerb-crawler; (2) a tendency to see the female prostitute as more of a victim; (3) the reconfiguration of space designated for the operation of the street trade in sexual services away from certain residential areas towards industrial and commercial sites; (4) the development of a more extensive multi-agency approach, from police to policing; (5) an increasing focus on the use of anti-social behavior legislation and the deployment of Anti-Social Behavior Orders (ASBOs), the granting of ASBO at the point of conviction or CRASBOs, and Anti-Social Behavior Contracts (ABCs); (6) a greater propensity for the police to act as a referral agency, such as for problematic drug use; and (7) a growing interest in the development and promotion of “exiting” strategies. References