Thursday, May 1, 2014

Message to our Community About Upcoming Prostitution Sting

We'd like to share with our community more details on our plans to target johns in an upcoming prostitution sting.  The announcement of the operation sparked intense discussion on social media, due in part, to the spread of misinformation. Our Vice Unit will target those who choose to solicit a prostitute, not prostitutes themselves. The intent all along has been to put on notice and/or arrest the very people who exploit women and even young girls in our community. Some young girls and women involved in prostitution are victims of human trafficking. Our Vice Unit regularly helps trafficked women connect with groups and advocates who help them escape the dangerous sex trade. We're hoping the advance notice we've provided acts as a deterrent to would-be johns who choose to engage in this illegal behavior. This is another example of our department's commitment to transparency. We'll give our community real-time access to the PGPD's Vice Unit which is dedicated to shutting down this type of illicit business and seeking help for its victims.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This social media approach is a great idea. America will be watching. I hope it keeps Johns off the street.

Anonymous said...

HOORAY!!!! This is awesome!!!! I wish every town would do this! Please do it regularly, post pictures of those you arrest at least once a month. Heck, once a week! Ok, how about EVERY SINGLE arrest?? I'm SO sick of these pervs contributing to human trafficking! Name them, shame them!

Anonymous said...

Social media involved in law enforcement could be a good thing. COULD be. However, police intervention is the last resort for public safety, though I'm not trying to understate its value. Streets are kept safe by having the eyes of the community on them, whether those might be shopkeepers, patrons at a bar, or passersby: in a digital world, this may be the way to draw those eyes to the streets, but let's be real about that, eyes are drawn to the streets out of interest. If streets are uninteresting to the public, and no one watches them, crimes like prostitution will fester and grow. If being a spectator to a sting is what draws interest to the street, is that really a good thing?

Why go around bragging about a sting online? That seems like a modern day form of tarring and feathering. Plus, wouldn't this draw a ton of attention to the crimes themselves? Do you want to be known as the city that publicizes its prostitution stings so the public believes something is being done about them?

Let your work be self-evident, instead, no one likes a boaster.

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