U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 
Problem-Oriented Guides for Police Series, No. 2, Street Prostitution

Problem-Oriented Guides for Police Series 
Guide No. 2 

Street Prostitution

Michael S. Scott 

This project was supported by cooperative agreement #99-
CK-WX-K004 by the Office of Community Oriented 
Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions 
contained herein are those of the author(s) and do not 
necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. 
Department of Justice. 

www.cops.usdoj.gov 


About the Guide Series 

The Problem-Oriented Guides for Police summarize knowledge 
about how police can reduce the harm caused by specific 
crime and disorder problems. They are guides to prevention 
and to improving the overall response to incidents, not to 
investigating offenses or handling specific incidents. The 
guides are written for policeof whatever rank or assignment 
who must address the specific problem the guides cover. The 
guides will be most useful to officers who 

 
Understand basic problem-oriented policing principles and 
methods. The guides are not primers in problem-oriented 
policing. They deal only briefly with the initial decision to 
focus on a particular problem, methods to analyze the 
problem, and means to assess the results of a problem-
oriented policing project. They are designed to help police 
decide how best to analyze and address a problem they have 
already identified. (An assessment guide has been produced 
as a companion to this series and the COPS Office has also 
published an introductory guide to problem analysis. For 
those who want to learn more about the principles and 
methods of problem-oriented policing, the assessment and 
analysis guides, along with other recommended readings, are 
listed at the back of this guide.) 
 
Can look at a problem in depth. Depending on the 
complexity of the problem, you should be prepared to 
spend perhaps weeks, or even months, analyzing and 
responding to it. Carefully studying a problem before 
responding helps you design the right strategy, one that is 
most likely to work in your community. You should not 
blindly adopt the responses others have used; you must 
decide whether they are appropriate to your local situation. 
What is true in one place may not be true elsewhere; what 
works in one place may not work everywhere. 


 
Are willing to consider new ways of doing police business. 
The guides describe responses that other police 
departments have used or that researchers have tested. 
While not all of these responses will be appropriate to your 
particular problem, they should help give a broader view of 
the kinds of things you could do. You may think you 
cannot implement some of these responses in your 
jurisdiction, but perhaps you can. In many places, when 
police have discovered a more effective response, they have 
succeeded in having laws and policies changed, improving 
the response to the problem. 
 
Understand the value and the limits of research knowledge. 
For some types of problems, a lot of useful research is 
available to the police; for other problems, little is available. 
Accordingly, some guides in this series summarize existing 
research whereas other guides illustrate the need for more 
research on that particular problem. Regardless, research 
has not provided definitive answers to all the questions you 
might have about the problem. The research may help get 
you started in designing your own responses, but it cannot 
tell you exactly what to do. This will depend greatly on the 
particular nature of your local problem. In the interest of 
keeping the guides readable, not every piece of relevant 
research has been cited, nor has every point been attributed 
to its sources. To have done so would have overwhelmed 
and distracted the reader. The references listed at the end of 
each guide are those drawn on most heavily; they are not a 
complete bibliography of research on the subject. 
 
Are willing to work with other community agencies to find 
effective solutions to the problem. The police alone cannot 
implement many of the responses discussed in the guides. 
They must frequently implement them in partnership with 
other responsible private and public entities. An effective 
problem-solver must know how to forge genuine 


partnerships with others and be prepared to invest 

considerable effort in making these partnerships work. 

These guides have drawn on research findings and police 
practices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, 
Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. 
Even though laws, customs and police practices vary from 
country to country, it is apparent that the police everywhere 
experience common problems. In a world that is becoming 
increasingly interconnected, it is important that police be 
aware of research and successful practices beyond the borders 
of their own countries. 

The COPS Office and the authors encourage you to provide 
feedback on this guide and to report on your own agency's 
experiences dealing with a similar problem. Your agency may 
have effectively addressed a problem using responses not 
considered in these guides and your experiences and 
knowledge could benefit others. This information will be used 
to update the guides. If you wish to provide feedback and 
share your experiences it should be sent via e-mail to 
cops_pub@usdoj.gov. 


Acknowledgments 

The Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series is very much a 
collaborative effort. While each guide has a primary author, 
other project team members, COPS Office staff and 
anonymous peer reviewers contributed to each guide by 
proposing text, recommending research and offering 
suggestions on matters of format and style. 

The principal project team developing the guide series 
comprised Herman Goldstein, professor emeritus, University 
of Wisconsin Law School; Ronald V. Clarke, professor of 
criminal justice, Rutgers University; John E. Eck, associate 
professor of criminal justice, University of Cincinnati; 
Michael S. Scott, police consultant, Savannah, Ga.; Rana 
Sampson, police consultant, San Diego; and Deborah Lamm 
Weisel, director of police research, North Carolina State 
University. 

Karin Schmerler, Rita Varano and Nancy Leach oversaw the 
project for the COPS Office. Megan Tate Murphy 
coordinated the peer reviews for the COPS Office. Suzanne 
Fregly edited the guides. Research for the guides was 
conducted at the Criminal Justice Library at Rutgers 
University under the direction of Phyllis Schultze by Gisela 
Bichler-Robertson, Rob Guerette and Laura Wyckoff. 

The project team also wishes to acknowledge the members of 
the San Diego, National City and Savannah police 
departments who provided feedback on the guides' format 
and style in the early stages of the project, as well as the line 
police officers, police executives and researchers who peer 
reviewed each guide. 


Contents 

About the Guide Series iAcknowledgments v
The Problem of Street Prostitution 1
Related Problems 3
Factors Contributing to Street Prostitution 4
Street Prostitutes 4
Street Prostitutes' Clients 6
Pimps and Panderers 6
Sexual Transactions 7
Areas Where Street Prostitution Exists 7
Links Between Street Prostitution and Drugs 10
Understanding Your Local Problem 11
Asking the Right Questions 11
Police and Community Members 11
Street Prostitutes 11
Street Prostitutes' Clients 12
Pimps and Panderers 12
Sexual Transactions 12
Environment 12
Drug Links 13
Current Response 13
Measuring Your Effectiveness 14

Responses to the Problem of Street Prostitution 15
General Principles for an Effective Strategy 15
Deterring Prostitutes and Clients 16
Using Special Responses To Deter Prostitutes 21
Using Special Responses To Deter Clients 24
Helping Prostitutes 26
Changing the Environment 27
Responses With Limited Effectiveness 29
Appendix: Summary of Responses to Street Prostitution 31
Endnotes 39
References 41
About the Author 45
Recommended Readings 47
Other Guides in This Series 51

The Problem of Street Prostitution 

This guide deals with the problem of street prostitution, 
focusing on female prostitutes and male clients. There are 
widely different perspectives on prostitution. Some view the 
prostitutes as primarily responsible for the problem; some  
view the clients as responsible, and the prostitutes as victims.  
Others view prostitution as a private matter in which the state
should not intervene. Community morals and beliefs about how the 
law should regulate morality will affect how any 
particular community addresses street prostitution. This guide  
does not adopt any particular moral perspective: It is intended 
to objectively inform you about the effectiveness and 
consequences of various approaches to controlling street 
prostitution. Before discussing response options, a general 
understanding of the problem is presented. 

 The information presented in this 
section is drawn from many sources, 
not all of which are cited. Among
the sources most heavily relied upon
are Benson & Matthews (1995),
Cohen (1980), Matthews (1993), May,
Edmunds and Hough (1999), Sterk
and Elifson (1990), van Gelder and 
Kaplan (1992), Weidner (1999) and 
Weitzer (2000).

Street prostitution varies with the type of prostitutes involved 
and their commitment to prostitution, the market size, the 
community's tolerance levels, the degree to which prostitutes 
are organized, and the relationship of prostitution to drug use 
and trafficking. Street prostitution accounts for perhaps only 
10 to 20 percent of all prostitution, but it has the most visible 
negative impact on the community. 

Among the many reasons why the police should be concerned 
about street prostitution are: 

Moral concerns 

 Prostitution offends some citizens' moral standards. 
 Prostitution is a nuisance to passersby and to nearby 
residents and businesses. 
 Prostitutes and clients offend uninvolved people in the area 
when they solicit them. 



 Juveniles, who are less capable of making informed choices, 
may become prostitutes. 

Public health concerns 

 Prostitutes and clients may spread sexually transmitted 
diseases such as syphilis, herpes and AIDS.

 Contrary to popular belief, 
prostitution has not been 
demonstrated to be a primary means 
of HIV transmission, at least not in 
the United States, largely because 
most street prostitution sex acts are 
oral rather than vaginal (oral 
transmission is less likely), most 
prostitutes insist that clients use 
condoms (less true of drug-
dependent prostitutes), and 
transmission is more difficult from 
female to male. Of course, fear of 
contracting HIV has likely changed 
the sex practices of some prostitutes 
and clients. HIV transmission among 
prostitutes is more likely to occur 
from sharing needles for drug 
injections (Weitzer 2000). 
 
 Used condoms, syringes and other paraphernalia left on the 
ground are unsightly and potentially hazardous. 

 Prostitutes who do not have access to proper facilities may 
urinate, defecate or bathe in public. 

Image of used condoms and syringes
Used condoms and syringes commonly found on the ground in street
prostitution areas are unsightly and potentially hazardous.

Personal safety concerns 

 Clients may harm prostitutes. 
 Clients may be assaulted, robbed or defrauded. 
 Pimps may financially and physically exploit prostitutes. 


Spillover effect concerns 

 Street prostitution and street drug markets are often linked. 
 Prostitution may provide the seedbed for organized crime. 
 Prostitutes create parking and traffic problems where they 
congregate. 
 Prostitution attracts strangers and criminals to a 
neighborhood. 

Economic concerns 

 Legitimate businesses may lose customers who avoid the 
area because of prostitution. 
 The presence of prostitutes may negatively affect the area 
economy, reducing property values and limiting property 
use. 

Civil rights concerns 

 Prostitutes, as citizens, have rights that need to be 
protected.1 

Related Problems 

Street prostitution is only one of a number of problems 
related to commercialized sex or sex in public places that the 
police must address. Related problems that call for their own 
analysis and responses include: 

 consensual, unpaid sex in public places, including meeting 
places for anonymous sex among homosexuals; 
 homosexual prostitution, also known as "hustling" (young 
homosexual prostitution is also known as the "chicken 
hawk trade"); 


 illegal immigration and forced prostitution (international 
trafficking in women and girls); 
 juvenile runaways who are drawn into prostitution; 
 organized crime connections to prostitution; 
 prostitution at truck stops or motels; 
 prostitution through call girls, escort services, Internet 
listings, and massage parlors, and at bars, hotels and 
conventions; 
 serial murders of prostitutes; 
 solicitation by leaving calling cards in conspicuous public 
places (e.g., phone booths); 
 strip clubs in which strippers also engage in prostitution; 
and 
 transvestite prostitution. 

Factors Contributing to Street Prostitution 

Understanding the factors that are known to contribute to 
your problem will help you frame your own local analysis 
questions, determine good effectiveness measures, recognize 
key points of intervention and select an appropriate set of 
responses for your particular problem. The literature on street 
prostitution provides a general picture of street prostitutes, 
clients, pimps, the sexual transactions, areas where street 
prostitution thrives, and the link between street prostitution 
and drugs. 

Street Prostitutes 

Street prostitutes have lower status than prostitutes who work 
indoors. They are often in some state of personal decline (e.g., 
running away from abusive situations, becoming drug


dependent, deteriorating psychologically, and/or getting less 
physically attractive).2 Most have social, economic and health 
problems. Most first turn to prostitution at a young age, often 
before they are 18. 

Street prostitutes are not equally committed to prostitution: 
Some are deeply committed for financial and lifestyle reasons; 
some are committed only due to drug dependency; and some 
are weakly committed, engaging in prostitution because it is 
the easiest way for them to make some money. 

The typical street prostitute works six to eight hours a day, 
five to six days a week, and has three to five clients a night.3 
Street prostitutes' lives are organized principally around 
prostitution itself, and around maneuvering through the legal 
system. It is a cycle of engaging in prostitution, getting 
arrested, going to jail, paying fines, and returning to the street. 

Some street prostitutes are highly mobile, traveling from one 
city to another, sometimes on a regular circuit, or when they 
think the risks are too high in one city or the money is better 
in another. 

Although most sexual encounters do not involve violence, 
most street prostitutes report having been criminally assaulted 
at least once by clients. A small percentage of clients are likely 
responsible for most of the violence committed against 
prostitutes. The pattern of violence in pimp-prostitute 
relationships is similar to that of domestic violence. 
Prostitutes do not report most assaults to the police because 
they either fear retaliation by pimps or believe the police will 
not take the matter seriously, or will charge them for 
soliciting. 



Street Prostitutes' Clients 

Prostitution clients, typically referred to as "johns" or "tricks," 
are attracted to the illicit nature of the encounter, desire 
varieties of sex that regular partners do not provide, view sex 
as merely a commodity, and/or lack interest in or access to 
conventional relationships. Clients' decision to solicit a 
prostitute is influenced by the availability of prostitutes, 
knowledge of where to find them, access to money, perceived 
risk of getting caught or contracting disease, and ease of 
securing services. Clients gather such information in a variety 
of ways: from trial and error; from personal 
recommendations from others (including friends, bartenders, 
taxi drivers, and hotel workers); and, increasingly, from 
information posted on Internet websites. 

Somewhere around 10 to 20 percent of men admit they have 
paid for sex, but only about 1 percent pay for sex regularly.4 
While this is still a large number of potential clients, it is 
considerably lower than some earlier estimates based on 
flawed research methods. 

Clients are more easily deterred than prostitutes. They are 
more readily ashamed of their behavior, and fear harming 
their public reputation or their standing in their personal lives. 
Consequently, they fear being identified publicly more than 
being fined for their conduct. 

Pimps and Panderers 

There is relatively little research knowledge about pimps and 
other panderers. It is unclear what percentage of street 


prostitutes have pimps; prostitutes are reluctant to talk to 
anyone about their pimps, and it is difficult for police to make 
cases against pimps. Pimps recruit and socialize prostitutes 
into the prostitution subculture by appealing to either their 
desire for money or their desire for what they believe will be a 
glamorous and exciting lifestyle. Pimps seldom procure clients 
for prostitutes, because clients do not typically want to 
associate with anyone other than the prostitute. Pimps do not 
offer prostitutes much protection against violence by clients, 
but do offer them protection against assault by other pimps. 
Pimps use violence and drug dependency as means to control 
prostitutes. By some estimates, pimps take 60 to 70 percent of 
prostitutes' earnings. 

 Two notable exceptions are 
Hodgson (1997), who describes in 
detail the nature of the pimp-
prostitute relationship and how 
pimps exercise control, and May, 
Harocopos and Hough (2000) who 
examine the pimp-prostitute 
relationship in the U.K. and effective 
ways to police pimps.

Sexual Transactions 

The prices for sex acts vary a little from community to 
community. Depending on how desperate the prostitutes are 
for money, they typically charge $20 to $50 for oral sex, and 
$50 to $100 for sexual intercourse. Among crack-addicted 
prostitutes, the price can be as low as the market price for a 
single rock of crack cocaine. The typical sexual transaction 
takes around 10 minutes in a vehicle (usually oral sex), and 
around 25 minutes indoors. 

Areas Where Street Prostitution Exists 

Street prostitution markets go through stages of 
developmentthey emerge, expand, stabilize, and disappear.5 
Sometimes they emerge by accident, when a few prostitutes 
happen upon a new location; sometimes they emerge because 
of changes in an area's traffic or commercial patterns (e.g., 
new roadways or new businesses such as adult entertainment 
establishments); and sometimes they emerge because police 


enforcement displaced them. It is important that an area be 
known for street prostitution so clients will know where to 
look. 

Street prostitution is more prevalent in run-down 
neighborhoods. Those that are populated heavily by 
unattached males are more vulnerable to street prostitution 
than those with a lot of women, families or elderly residents, 
because the likelihood of vocal community opposition is 
lower. For street prostitution to thrive, the surrounding 
neighborhood cannot be too crime-ridden or appear too 
threatening to potential clients. Consequently, it is often found 
in areas that are marginal or in transition, rather than in 
thoroughly blighted areas. However, the emergence of street 
prostitution will almost certainly speed up the decline. 
Neighborhood redevelopment or gentrification frequently 
prompts strong community opposition to street prostitution, 
and clearly drives much of the pressure on the police to 
control it. 

Street prostitution areas are typically small, less than a square 
mile. Larger cities usually have several such areas. They are 
typically industrial, declining residential, near major 
thoroughfares (including tunnels, bridges or airport access 
roads), or near transportation hubs such as train and bus 
stations. Street prostitution flourishes around convention 
centers and hotels, especially when mostly male conventions 
are held. 

Street prostitution thrives in areas where it does not conflict 
with legitimate business, but rather, supports and is supported 
by that business. The following foster street prostitution: 

 places where sexual transactions can occur, such as cheap 
motels and hotels, dimly lit parking lots, alleys, and 
abandoned buildings; 


Cheap hotels and motels
 places where prostitutes can take a break, such as coffee 
shops or bars; 
 places near a street drug market, so prostitutes and clients 
can readily buy drugs; 
 places offering escape avenues from the police and 
dangerous clients; and 
 roads that allow drivers to slow down or stop, ideally where 
the driver's side of the vehicle is closest to the curb. 

Bob Morris 
Image of prostitute talking to driver from curbside


Links Between Street Prostitution and Drugs 

Street prostitution and street drug markets are often closely 
linked, supporting and reinforcing one another.6 Many street 
prostitutes use illegal drugs, mainly cocaine or heroin, or both. 
Many female serious drug users turn to prostitution at some 
point to finance their habit. Some prostitutes develop drug 
habits before turning to prostitution, while others start using 
drugs as part of the street prostitution lifestyle. 

Crack cocaine markets drive down the price of street 
prostitution, as prostitutes, desperate to buy drugs, sell sex 
cheaply. Other prostitutes resent them for driving down prices 
or permitting sex without condoms, and pimps punish them 
for withholding their earnings to buy drugs. Drug-dependent 
prostitutes are more vulnerable to violence and more likely to 
rob their clients. In summary, where crack cocaine and street 
prostitution are linked, street prostitution becomes less 
predictable and more dangerous. 


Understanding Your Local Problem 

The information provided above is only a generalized 
description of street prostitution. You must combine the 
basic facts with a more specific understanding of your local 
problem. Analyzing the local problem carefully will help you 
design a more effective response strategy. 

Asking the Right Questions 

The following are some critical questions you should ask in 
analyzing your particular problem of street prostitution, even 
if the answers are not always readily available. Your answers 
to these and other questions will help you choose the most 
appropriate set of responses later on. 

Police and Community Members 

 How concerned is the police department about street 
prostitution? How concerned is the community? What 
groups are particularly concerned and why? What specific 
concerns are expressed? 
 How organized and active are community members who 
oppose street prostitution? What level of street prostitution 
are they willing to tolerate? 

Street Prostitutes 

 Does street prostitution take only one form (e.g., female 
prostitutes and male clients), or are there several different 
forms (e.g., homosexual or transvestite prostitution)? 
 What is known about the prostitutes (e.g., age, gender, race, 
criminal history, social service history, substance abuse 
history, residence)? 
 Do street prostitutes commit crimes against clients (e.g., 
robbery or theft)? Are street prostitutes the victims of 
crime? 


 How committed are prostitutes to prostitution? How 
committed are they to a particular location? 

Street Prostitutes' Clients 

 What is known about the clients (e.g., age, race, occupation, 
socio-economic status, marital status, criminal history, 
residence)? 
 How committed are clients to prostitution? How 
committed are they to soliciting prostitutes on the street or 
in a particular area? 

Pimps and Panderers 

 Do the prostitutes work for pimps or others who profit 
from their income? 

Sexual Transactions 

 How, specifically, do street prostitutes and clients negotiate 
and complete sexual transactions? Do clients solicit 
prostitutes on foot or from a vehicle? Where do the sexual 
transactions take place? 
 Do prostitutes and clients take precautions to prevent 
sexually-transmitted disease? 

Environment 

 Does street prostitution take place in more than one area? 
What conditions make the area(s) attractive for street 
prostitution? If street prostitution occurs in several areas, 
how are they similar and different? 
 What area businesses are harmed by the presence of street 
prostitution? 
 What area businesses support and/or benefit from street 
prostitution? 


 Is the street prostitution market in each area old or new? 
Has it changed in size recently? If so, why? 
 Do street prostitution areas have a reputation as being 
dangerous or safe for clients? 
 Are street prostitution areas isolated, or busy with other 
activities? 
 What other types of crime occur in the area? How much is 
related to street prostitution? 
 If street prostitution were forced out of a target area, 
where would you predict it might reappear? 

Drug Links 

 To what extent are street prostitutes, clients and pimps 
engaged in the sale or use of drugs? 
 Are street prostitution and street drug markets near each 
other? 
 Do street prostitutes exchange sex directly for drugs? 

Current Response 

 What is the police department's current policy in dealing 
with street prostitution? What is the prosecutor's current 
policy regarding prostitution-related offenses? What are the 
typical sentences handed out to those who are convicted? 
Do the prostitutes and clients complete those sentences? 
What effect, if any, does the imposition of a sentence have 
on subsequent involvement in prostitution? 
 What responses do police officers use, other than arrest and 
prosecution? Are any of these responses especially 
effective? 
 What social, health and substance abuse treatment services 
are available to assist prostitutes? Are prostitutes using 
available services? 


Measuring Your Effectiveness 

Measurement allows you to determine to what degree your 
efforts have succeeded and suggests how you might modify 
your responses if they are not producing the intended 
results.You should take measures of your problem before you 
implement responses to determine how serious the problem 
is, and after you implement them to determine whether they 
have been effective. For more detailed guidance on measuring 
effectiveness, see the companion guide to this series, 
Assessing Responses to Problems: An Introductory Guide for Police Problem-
Solvers. The following are potentially useful measures of the 
effectiveness of responses to street prostitution: 

 number of citizen complaints about street prostitution; 
 number of prostitutes visible on the streets at particular 
times; 
 difficulty decoy officers have trying to negotiate acts of 
prostitution; 
 arrests of repeat offenders (both prostitutes and clients); 
 traffic congestion in areas where curb-crawling (or "kerbcrawling," 
in the United Kingdom) is a problem; 
 volume of discarded condoms, syringes and other 
prostitution-related paraphernalia; and 
 total reported crime in target areas compared to control 
areas (keeping in mind that changes may be due to other 
factors and reported crime does not always correlate with 
actual crime). 


Responses to the Problem of Street 
Prostitution 

Your analysis of your local problem should give you a better 
understanding of the factors that are contributing to the 
problem. Once you have analyzed your local problem and 
established a baseline for measuring effectiveness, you should 
consider possible responses to address the problem. The 
following response strategies provide a foundation of ideas 
for addressing your particular problem. These strategies are 
drawn from a variety of research studies and police reports. 
Several of these strategies may apply to the particular problem 
in your community. It is critical that you tailor responses to 
local circumstances, and that you can justify each response 
based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy 
will involve implementing several different responses. Law 
enforcement responses alone are seldom effective in reducing 
or solving the problem. Do not limit yourself to considering 
what police can do to better address the problem: give careful 
consideration to who else in your community shares 
responsibility for the problem and can help police better 
respond to it. 

General Principles for an Effective Strategy 

You should consider a few general principles when developing 
your response strategy. Which particular responses you adopt 
should depend on what you learn from a careful analysis of 
your local problem. Strategies that exclusively focus on 
arresting prostitutes are unlikely to be effective.7 Strategies 
that seek to reduce the harms caused by street prostitution 
rather than those that seek to eliminate prostitution altogether 
are more likely to work. At a minimum, both prostitutes' and 
clients' conduct should be addressed. An effective strategy not 
only must force prostitutes off the streets and get them to 


stop their offensive behavior, but also must give them viable 
alternatives: either to get out of prostitution altogether, or to 
operate in less offensive locations, times or ways. This usually 
requires greater cooperation between the police and various 
service organizations.8 

Deterring Prostitutes and Clients 

1. Enforcing laws prohibiting soliciting, patronizing 
and loitering for the purposes of prostitution. The 
main strategy police use to control street prostitution is 
enforcing laws prohibiting soliciting, patronizing and 
loitering for the purposes of prostitution. Street 
prostitutes can be valuable informants to police about 
other crimes, and the threat of enforcement gives the 
police leverage for information. In some jurisdictions, 
controlling street prostitution is left to the vice squad. 
Limiting patrol officers' involvement is intended to reduce 
corruption, but it can give the public the impression that 
only corrupt officers would ignore the problem. 
Historically, the police have arrested far more prostitutes 
than clients, although some police agencies have shifted 
toward a more balanced enforcement strategy, targeting 
clients as well as prostitutes. To promote a consistent 
response and improve the chances for successful 
prosecutions, police agencies should prepare written 
guidelines to govern how and under what circumstances 
they will enforce prostitution laws. 

Enforcement strategies are expensive; each arrest costs 
thousands of dollars to process. By themselves, they are 
ineffective at either controlling street prostitution or 
protecting prostitutes from harm.9 Increased police 
enforcement temporarily reduces the number of 
prostitutes on the street, but they usually reappear in new 
areas. This may actually increase street prostitution in the 


long term by creating new opportunities for prostitutes 
and potential clients to meet. While the severity of the 
penalties against prostitutes does appear to affect the 
volume of prostitution, modest fines against prostitutes 
may actually force them to commit more prostitution to 
pay the fines. Prostitutes who are prosecuted are usually 
convicted, but many of them fail to show up for court 
hearings. Most prostitutes consider the costs of being 
arrested as a business expense and an inconvenience, and 
not as a significant deterrent. 

1a. Enforcing laws prohibiting prostitution and the 
solicitation thereof. Enforcing laws prohibiting 
prostitution usually requires undercover police officers to 
pose as clients to gather the necessary evidence, which 
can be difficult to obtain from street-savvy prostitutes. 
Enforcing prostitution laws against clients typically 
requires the police to pose as prostitutes to obtain 
evidence. Some police agencies still do not have enough 
female officers to conduct effective solicitation 
enforcement campaigns. Moreover, decoy arrests of 
clients are open to legal entrapment defenses if officers 
are not careful. 

1b. Enforcing laws prohibiting conduct associated with 
prostitution and the solicitation thereof. Many 
jurisdictions have enacted laws that prohibit conduct 
associated with prostitution and the solicitation thereof, 
such as loitering for the purposes of prostitution, 
loitering in search of a prostitute, and curb-crawling. 
These laws are designed to allow the police to charge 
prostitutes and clients without having to prove there was 
a proposed or actual exchange of money for sex. Charges 
of loitering for the purposes of prostitution are difficult 
to prove in some jurisdictions, so even if arrest rates are 
high, prosecutions may not be. 

 The particular statutory and 
evidentiary requirements vary across 
jurisdictions. U.K. police do not use 
this strategy because neither 
prostitution itself nor proposing the 
exchange of sex for money is illegal. 
Prostitutes use a variety of methods 
to determine if a prospective client is 
an undercover police officer, 
including exposing themselves or 
asking the client/officer to expose 
himself. The city of St. Petersburg, 
Fla., passed an ordinance that 
specifically mentioned prostitutes' 
efforts to identify police officers as 
among the behaviors that constitute a 
"verified pattern of solicitation 
activity." 


1c. Intensively enforcing prostitution laws against 
prostitutes and/or clients for short periods.In 
addition to routinely enforcing prostitution laws, the 
police often conduct intensive arrest campaigns against 
prostitutes, clients or both. These campaigns significantly 
increase the risks of arrest, at least temporarily, bringing 
large numbers of prostitutes and clients into the formal 
justice system. When combined with media coverage, the 
campaigns are intended to deter those arrested from 
offending again, and to deter potential clients. The 
campaigns' deterrent value wears off after time, however. 
In high-volume arrest campaigns, the chances that police 
will arrest innocent people increase, unless they take 
special precautions. Without some follow-up court 
intervention or measures to change the environment, 
intensive enforcement campaigns only temporarily 
interrupt street prostitution, or move it elsewhere; they do 
not shut down a street prostitution market entirely. 

2. 
Establishing a highly visible police presence. A highly 
visible police presence, typically with extra uniformed 
officers, is intended to discourage area street prostitution. 
Extra police presence is expensive, of course, and is 
effective only if the police follow it up with more 
permanent strategies. It can also create the perception 
that the area is unsafe. Alternative methods to establish a 
police presence are to open a police station (e.g., a 
storefront office, mobile office or kiosk) in the area, or 
affix antiprostitution warning signs to police vehicles 
patrolling the area. Private security forces might also be 
deployed to supplement a police presence. 
3. 
Relaxing the regulation of indoor prostitution 
venues. Whether changes in enforcement levels against 
indoor prostitution venues (e.g., massage parlors, call girls, 
bar girls, and escort services) will affect street prostitution 


Responses to the Problem of Street Prostitution 19 
depends on how easily prostitutes can move back and 
forth between the streets and indoors. The conventional 
wisdom is that there is little movement between them. 
But, within limits, prostitutes do have some mobility. The 
laws related to indoor prostitution are likely to affect the 
degree of mobility (it is legal in the United Kingdom, and 
illegal in the United States). Prostitutes who work indoors 
seem able to work on the streets when they have to more 
easily than street prostitutes can move indoors. 10 Relaxing 
the regulation of indoor prostitution may be perceived as 
condoning prostitution. 
4. Enhancing fines/penalties for prostitution-related 
offenses committed within specified high-activity 
zones. Some communities have enhanced penalties for 
prostitution-related offenses committed within specific 
geographic areas. These penalty enhancements are 
intended to move the street prostitution market to other 
locations so the target area can be redeveloped. You 
should be careful that the problem is not displaced to 
areas where the impact will be even worse. 
5. Banning prostitutes or clients from geographic areas. 
Many courts order prostitutes and clients to stay out of 
specifically defined areas where street prostitution is 
prevalent, as a condition of either bail or probation.11 
This practice is commonly referred to as "mapping" 
offenders out of areas. This practice may, however, 
displace prostitutes to more remote areas outside the 
prohibited zone, areas which may prove more hazardous 
to the prostitutes. 


6. 
Imposing community service sentences in lieu of 
incarceration or fines. Community service sanctions, 
when properly monitored and enforced, have been shown 
to be more effective than jail time or fines alone.12 

7. 
Encouraging community members to publicly 
protest against prostitutes or clients. Direct 
community activism in the form of organized marches, 
rallies or confrontations of prostitutes and clients has 
proved effective in disrupting and moving street 
prostitution markets.13 This response is intended to 
intimidate prostitutes and clients, and to demonstrate the 
community's resolve against street prostitution. You must 
guard against overzealous community conduct that 
violates prostitutes' rights. 

8. 
Educating and warning high-risk prostitute and 
client populations. Working with other institutions, you 
can target education and warning messages to groups 
especially likely to become involved in prostitution, as 
either prostitutes or clients. 

Certain groups are especially vulnerable to being recruited 
or drawn to street prostitution, among them juvenile 
offenders, juvenile runaways and juveniles in group 
homes (residential custody). Young people who are at 
high risk for being recruited into prostitution usually have 
multiple critical social and psychological problems that 
require attention if they are to be kept out of 
prostitution. 

Among the high-risk client groups are male 
conventioneers, male soldiers and previously arrested 
clients. The education and warning information can be 
conveyed through letters, lectures, video presentations, 
billboards, warning signs, or media outlets. A growing 


number of jurisdictions have established court-ordered
education programs for convicted clients. These so-called
"john schools" confront prostitution clients about the
consequences of their behavior. They usually include
information about the legal and health consequences for
clients, the impact of street prostitution on the
community, and the negative effects of prostitution on
prostitutes. Recidivism rates for clients who participate in
court-ordered education programs are low (around 2% to
7%).14 It is less clear what added deterrent value there is
in the education program beyond what is achieved by any
official intervention, from a warning to an arrest.

Using Special Responses to Deter Prostitutes 

9. Identifying and targeting the worst offenders. A small 
percentage of prostitutes and pimps may be responsible 
for most of the complaints in a prostitution area. If you 
can establish this, you might more productively target 
your efforts at those few, rather than at the larger 
population of offenders. Bob Heimberger 

Habitual prostitute rap sheetHabitual street prostitutes 
are usually well-known to police vice units. 


10. Serving restraining orders/civil injunctions against 
habitual prostitutes. In several jurisdictions, the police 
have coordinated with merchants whose business is 
negatively affected by street prostitution to obtain 
restraining orders against prostitutes, prohibiting them 
from engaging in specific behavior within a specific area.15 
In San Bernardino, Calif. certain existing municipal codes 
have been incorporated into court-ordered civil 
injunctions against known prostitutes (see box below). 

The specific prohibitions mentioned in a San Bernardino, Calif., restraining 
order are: 

 approaching or signaling to any vehicle in any street, alley or other public 
passage area, thus causing the vehicle to stop, unless a legitimate emergency 
so requires; 
 blocking the passage of any person or vehicle in any street, walkway, 
sidewalk, driveway, alley, or other public passage area; 
 being on, or causing others to be on, private property, except (1) with the 
property owner's prior written consent, or (2) in the property owner's 
presence and with his or her voluntary consent; 
 being on the premises of an uninhabited or abandoned building; 
 making, causing or encouraging others to violate noise restrictions; 
 fighting in public or any place open to public view or hearing; 
 drinking any alcoholic beverage in public or any place open to public view; 
 urinating or defecating in public or any place open to public view; 
 littering, including discarding cans, bottles, cigarettes, condoms, or 
hypodermic needles other than in a proper waste receptacle; 
 damaging or vandalizing another's property, including any light fixture, 
fence, gate, wall, or window; 
 applying graffiti to any public or private property, including any building, 
fence, wall, garage door, street sign, tree, pole, or vehicle; 
 congregating in any public place for the purpose of engaging in any 
conduct prohibited by this injunction, or any criminal activity; and 
 intimidating, provoking, harassing, challenging, or carrying out any acts of 
retaliation, including, but not limited to, using abusive or vulgar language to 
harass any person (San Bernardino Police Department 1999). 


Violations of the restraining orders result in jail time and
fines that exceed the usual penalties. You should consult
with legal counsel about the requirements for obtaining
restraining orders. It may also take a lot of time and
effort to obtain the documentation necessary for a
restraining order.

11. 
Mediating conflicts between prostitutes and the 
community. While negotiating with offenders is not 
common for the police, street prostitutes have responded 
positively in several communities where the police and 
community have requested that they stay away from 
certain areas or reduce their nuisance behavior in 
exchange for some tolerance.16 In one Vancouver 
community, community groups posted signs and maps 
requesting that prostitutes stay out of certain areas.17 
Obviously, it can be difficult to get prostitutes to comply 
with agreements. 

12. 
Suspending or revoking government aid to 
prostitutes. Many street prostitutes receive government 
aid in one form or another (e.g., for housing, dependent 
children, unemployment insurance, and/or disability), but 
would not qualify for such if they reported their 
prostitution income. You might share arrest and 
intelligence information with government agencies 
providing the aid.18 The threat of losing government aid 
might compel some prostitutes to quit. For this approach 
to be viable, adequate social services must be available to 
help them do so. You should take care not to unduly 
harm any dependent children. 


13. Imposing curfews on prostitutes. Curfews can be 
imposed on prostitutes as a condition of either bail or 
probation. The purpose is to deny prostitutes the 
opportunity to work during the hours of peak demand. 
To be effective, police or corrections officials must 
monitor and enforce the curfews. 

Using Special Responses To Deter Clients 

Clients are generally more easily deterred than prostitutes.19 
Almost any form of official or community intervention in 
clients' behavior is sufficient to deter most clients from 
patronizing street prostitutes, at least at a particular location. 
This offers some justification for focusing responses on 
clients. However, since there are many more potential clients 
than street prostitutes, deterring individual clients does not 
necessarily reduce the overall demand for street prostitution.20 
To deter potential clients, they must believe there is a high 
likelihood they will be caught and publicly identified. 

14. Exposing clients to publicity. Community groups have 
organized to expose prostitution clients' identity to either 
the general public or the clients' families or employers. 
This can be done by photographing or videotaping 
clients, calling clients' families or employers, writing down 
license plate numbers of vehicles seen driving around 
prostitution strips, mailing warning letters or postcards to 
registered vehicle owners, or posting clients' names or 
photographs on street posts, billboards, telephone hotline 
fliers, and Internet sites. Some police agencies have sent 
official letters or postcards warning prostitution clients 
about the legal and health consequences of patronizing 
prostitutes.21 In some instances, they send these warnings 


only to those arrested for soliciting prostitutes; in other 
instances, they send them to the registered owners of 
suspicious vehicles seen driving through street 
prostitution areas. In some areas, police use closed-circuit  
TV cameras to discourage potential clients from hanging  
around.22 

Some police agencies and local governments have
publicized the names and photographs of clients who are
either arrested for and/or convicted of prostitution-
related offenses. The names and photographs may
appear on television, in newspapers or on Internet
websites. Many media outlets, however, refuse to
participate, deeming it unnewsworthy and not wanting to
appear to be an agent of the government. Some local
governments have purchased advertising space to publish
the information. There should be safeguards so that
innocent persons are not unfairly accused or implicated in
illegal activity.

 See Persons (1996) for a
thorough discussion of the
effectiveness and legality of
publicizing prostitution clients' 
names. 

15. Notifying those with influence over clients' conduct. 

Employers, schools, the military, convention organizers,
and other individuals or groups often exert significant
informal influence over prostitution clients' conduct. You
can leverage this influence by seeking such third parties'
cooperation to discipline clients who come to police
attention. This strategy is not intended merely to shame
clients, but rather, to change their behavior through
disciplinary systems outside the formal justice system.
Keep in mind that some forms of discipline, such as
employment termination, can be severe.


16. Restricting clients' ability to drive. The city of 
Portland, Ore., is widely credited for pioneering the use of 
vehicle forfeiture laws against prostitution clients. In 
Portland, most vehicles were returned to the owners 
under deferred prosecution arrangements, with low levels 
(about 1%) of clients reoffending.23 Some jurisdictions 
have passed laws that allow judges to suspend or revoke 
the driving privileges of those convicted of patronizing 
prostitution.24 This approach is intended to deter both 
potential clients and those who regularly search for, and 
have sexual transactions with, prostitutes in cars. Many 
drivers continue to drive without valid licenses, however, 
so some enforcement will likely be necessary. 

Helping Prostitutes 

17. Helping prostitutes to quit. Street prostitutes typically 
need help if they are to quit prostitution. They often need 
drug and alcohol treatment, mental health treatment, 
transitional housing, case management, peer 
support/mentoring, child care, job training, health care, 
confidential HIV testing, psychological counseling, 
transportation, self-defense training, legal aid, and 
employment assistance. Some communities offer a 
service-and-support network through either precharge or 
postcharge diversion programs, and some even offer 
these programs on the street, with no formal connection 
to the criminal justice system.25 Although these programs 
do not necessarily persuade many prostitutes to quit, they 
seem essential for those who are motivated to do so, and 
they can be effective in reducing some of the risks to 
street prostitutes, such as sexually transmitted disease and 
assault.26 


18. 
Encouraging prostitutes to report serious offenses to 
the police. Police in some jurisdictions work hard to 
develop a good rapport with street prostitutes to persuade 
them to report juvenile prostitutes, violent clients, client 
robbery, etc., and to give evidence against pimps. 
Prostitutes who assist the police may require extra 
protection because they risk violent retaliation. 
19. 
Distributing information about known dangerous 
clients to prostitutes. Police in some jurisdictions 
distribute so-called "bad dates" lists to street prostitutes, 
warning them to stay away from clients who are known to 
assault prostitutes. Some people may view this as 
condoning prostitution, however. 

Changing the Environment 

20. Closing streets and alleys, diverting traffic or 
regulating parking. Traffic flow and patterns influence 
potential clients' perceptions about their chances of 
negotiating a transaction and their risks of getting caught. 
Traffic-related factors are especially significant where sex 
acts take place in vehicles. Many clients stop to solicit 
prostitutes while on their way somewhere elsecommonly 
to or home from work. Responses that make it more 
difficult or risky for clients to negotiate a transaction will 
either discourage them from soliciting street prostitutes or 
encourage them to seek prostitutes in indoor venues.27 
Under some circumstances, the traffic changes may lock 
the problem into an area rather than force it out. You 
should also be careful that any traffic changes do not 
cause undue harm to legitimate commerce in the area. 


21. 
Enforcing zoning, nuisance abatement and business 
license regulations against properties used for 
prostitution. As noted previously, street prostitution 
markets depend on other businesses to support them. 
The police and other enforcement agencies can exert 
pressure on those businesses to discourage their support 
of street prostitution by enforcing civil laws and business 
regulations. Some communities prohibit motels and hotels 
from renting rooms for short periods (i.e., at hourly 
rates), and require them to record guests' identities 
through positive proof of identification, thus 
discouraging their use by prostitutes and clients.28 Zoning 
regulations that restrict the sorts of businesses that 
support street prostitution, such as adult entertainment, 
can be effective. Zoning restrictions have been key in the 
major redevelopment of Times Square in New York City, 
where street prostitution has significantly declined.29 The 
police and private parties can file nuisance abatement 
actions against businesses that support prostitution. You 
should get advice and support from legal counsel to 
pursue these options. 

22. 
Warning property owners about the use of their 
premises for prostitution. Many property owners 
unwittingly support street prostitution because they do 
not appreciate how their business practices enable it to 
flourish. You can remind them of their legal obligations, 
and provide them and their employees with specific 
training to help them prevent their properties from being 
used for prostitution.30 

23. 
Redeveloping the area economy. Because street 
prostitution markets flourish under marginal economic 
conditions, economic redevelopment is often necessary to 
permanently eliminate street prostitution from the area. 


New businesses emerge to replace those that supported
street prostitution. Economic redevelopment usually
requires a substantial investment of government and
private resources. Street prostitution may be displaced to
even more vulnerable areas.

24. 
Securing abandoned buildings. Street prostitutes and 
clients sometimes use abandoned buildings for sexual 
transactions. If demolishing or rehabilitating the buildings 
is not feasible, securing them can help reduce street 
prostitution and other offenses in the area.31 

25. 
Enhancing lighting. Improved lighting reduces the 
attractiveness of certain areas for street prostitution 
because it reduces the level of privacy prostitutes and 
clients seek to negotiate and complete their transactions.32 
Motion-sensitive lighting is useful for secluded areas like 
alleys and doorways. 

Responses With Limited Effectiveness 

26. Conducting sweeps. Sweeps are large-scale arrest 
campaigns targeting suspected prostitutes without the 
intent to prosecute. Sweeps have long been a police 
strategy to control street prostitution, particularly when 
they have had few legal alternatives for dealing with the 
problem, yet have been pressured to do something about 
it. There is little evidence that sweeps are anything other 
than temporarily effective at removing prostitutes from 
the street, and they do considerable harm to the integrity 
of the criminal justice system. It is not uncommon for 
police to arrest innocent people during sweeps. 



27. 
Harassing and intimidating prostitutes. When police 
have been placed under intense pressure to control street 
prostitution, yet have lacked adequate legal alternatives for 
doing so, some have turned to harassing and intimidating 
prostitutes, in some instances forcing them to relocate to 
another jurisdiction. There is no evidence that this is at all 
effective, and it undermines police integrity. 

28. 
Establishing formal or informal red-light districts 
where street prostitution is tolerated. In most cases, 
the existence of red-light districts has not reduced the 
volume of street prostitution, the level of nuisance 
complaints or the harm to prostitutes.33 Creating 
tolerance zones for street prostitution implies some 
official approval. As is true with respect to most vices, 
official disapproval has at least a marginal deterrent effect. 
In many jurisdictions this response is not viable because 
of legal restrictions or public opposition. 

29. 
Legalization and decriminalization of prostitution. 
The two most radical responses to street prostitution are 
legalization and decriminalization. Whatever their merits 
and drawbacks, neither approach is likely to be politically 
feasible in the foreseeable future in the United States, 
Canada or the United Kingdom. 

 Legalization implies that the 
government will regulate various 
aspects of prostitution, just as it 
regulates other forms of commerce. 
Decriminalization implies no 
government regulation. 

 Prostitution itself is not illegal in 
either Canada or the United 
Kingdom, as it is in most of the 
United States, but nearly all forms of 
soliciting prostitution on the street 
are illegal, so the net effect is 
substantially the samestreet 
prostitution is outlawed. Prostitution 
has been legalized in the Netherlands, 
but recently criminalized in Sweden. 
Some forms of indoor prostitution 
have been made legal in Victoria, 
Australia, but street prostitution 
remains illegal. The legalization of 
prostitution in several Nevada 
counties has not eliminated the 
problems associated with street 
prostitution in the cities of Reno and 
Las Vegas. 


Appendix 

Appendix: Summary of Responses to 
Street Prostitution 

The table below summarizes the responses to street 
prostitution, the mechanism by which they are intended to 
work, the conditions under which they ought to work best, 
and some factors you should consider before implementing a 
particular response. It is critical that you tailor responses to 
local circumstances, and that you can justify each response 
based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy 
will involve implementing several different responses. Law 
enforcement responses alone are seldom effective in reducing 
or solving the problem. 

Response Page No. Response How It Works Considerations 
No. Works Best If 
Deterring Prostitutes and Clients1. 16 Enforcing laws 
prohibitingsoliciting,
patronizing andloitering for thepurposes ofprostitution 
Temporarily 
removes 
prostitutes andclients from the 
streets 
there are 
follow-up 
programs to helpprostitutes quit orswitch to indoor 
venues, and 
enforcement is 
combined with 
other effective 
responses 
Strategy isexpensive; has 
only a short-term 
impact; may 
increase 
prostitution bydisplacing theproblem to newlocations, and by 
compellingprostitutes towork more to pay 
fines 
1a. 17 Enforcing laws 
prohibitingprostitution andthe solicitation 
thereof 
Temporarily 
removes 
prostitutes andclients from the 
streets; increases 
the costs of 
business; deters 
arrested clients 
from reoffending 
a prosecutionwill result in 
meaningfulsanctions against 
the prostitute, 
and the pool ofpotential clients isrelatively small 
Strategy isexpensive; 
difficult to obtain 
admissible 
evidence; jail timeis usually limited 
or none; 
discourages 
prostitutes fromcalling policewhen they arevictims; creates 


Response Page No. Response How It Works Considerations 
No. Works Best If 
1a. (contd) additional incentives 
to engage in 
prostitution to pay 
fines; prosecutors 
may elect not to 
prosecute; the 
population ofpotential clients islarge enough that 
general deterrence 
is difficult to 
achieve solely by 
arrest strategies; 
arresting clientsrequires a sufficientnumber of female 
police officers 
1b. 17 Enforcing laws 
prohibitingconduct 
associated with 
prostitution andthe solicitation 
thereof 
Deters prostitutesfrom solicitingand clients from 
searching forprostitutes on thestreets, without 
requiring proofof actual sexual 
transactions 
a prosecutionwill result in 
meaningfulsanctions against 
the prostitute, and 
the pool ofpotential clients isrelatively small 
Legality (courts 
have struck down 
some such laws for 
being either vague 
or overly broad);
the population ofpotential clients islarge enough that 
general deterrence 
is difficult to 
achieve solely by 
arrest strategies 
1c. 18 Intensivelyenforcingprostitution laws 
against prostitutesand/or clients forshort periods 
Temporarily 
removes 
prostitutes fromthe streets; deters 
potential clientsfrom frequentingthe area 
there is media 
coverage, and the 
campaign isfollowed by 
changes to the 
environment 
where the street 
prostitution 
occurs 
Media coverage can 
have the oppositeeffect of promotingprostitution by 
advertising thelocation of 
prostitution strolls 
2. 18 Establishing ahighly visiblepolice presence 
Discourages both 
prostitutes andclients from 
negotiations 
followed by 
changes to the 
environment 
where street 
prostitution 
occurs 
Labor intensive; 
creates the 
perception that thearea is unsafe 


33 

Response Page No. Response How It Works Considerations 
No. Works Best If 
3. 18 Relaxing theregulation ofindoor 
prostitution 
Gives street 
prostitutes someincentive to 
relocate to indoor 
street 
prostitutes areable to work in 
indoor venues 
May be perceived as 
condoningprostitution 
venues venues 
4. 19 Enhancingfines/penaltiesfor prostitution-
related offenses 
committed within 
specified high-
activity zones 
Displaces thestreet prostitutionmarket from a 
particular area 
followed by 
changes to the 
environment 
where street 
prostitution 
occurs 
Displacement maybe to areas where 
the impact is even 
worse 
5. 19 Banningprostitutes orclients from 
geographic areas 
Reduces the 
opportunities for 
prostitutes andclients to solicit 
and patronize 
there is 
adequatemonitoring ofbans 
Requires legal 
authority; maydisplace prostitutesto new areas outside 
the prohibited zone, 
which, if remote, 
may prove more 
hazardous to them 
6. 20 Imposingcommunity 
service sentences 
in lieu of 
incarceration or 
fines 
Creates 
meaningfulconsequences forprostitutes'offending; 
consumes 
there is 
adequatemonitoring ofcompliance with 
sentences 
Requires monitoring 
by the court and 
corrections officials 
prostitutes' time 
7. 20 Encouragingcommunitymembers to 
publicly protestagainst prostitutesor clients 
Creates the 
impression thatoffenders will be 
constantlymonitored and 
reported; 
increases the 
the community 
is willing tosustain protestsand remain lawful 
Risks of 
overzealousness 
(vigilantism);
displacement toother locations 
pressure onpublic officials toaddress the 
problem 


Response Page No. Response How It Works Considerations 
No. Works Best If 
8. 20 Educating andwarning high-riskprostitute andclient populations 
Deters youngpeople fromgetting intoprostitution;
discourages 
potential clients;
education 
programs for 
arrested clients 
deter repeatoffending 
there is 
evidence of the 
recruitment of 
prostitutes from 
target 
populations, the 
messages are 
carefully tailoredto the target 
audience, and 
there are adequate 
resources to run 
education 
programs 
Young people atseriously high riskusually have several 
critical social 
problems thatrequire attention ifthey are to be kept 
out of prostitution;
costs of running 
programs; adequate 
deterrence may be 
achieved by any 
form of official 
intervention 
Special Responses to Deter Prostitutes9. 21 Identifying andtargeting the 
worst offenders 
Deters the most 
problematicoffenders; 
conserves police 
resources 
there are a 
small number of 
chronic offenders 
There may be toomany offenders to 
target 
10. 22 Servingrestrainingorders/civil 
injunctionsagainst habitual 
prostitutes 
Effectivelycontrols and 
deters the 
activities of large 
numbers of 
prostitutesworking in a 
particular area 
complainantsare willing to filefor court orders 
Labor-intensive and 
costly to documentindividuals and 
activities; legality 
varies byjurisdiction 
11. 23 Mediatingconflicts between 
prostitutes andthe community 
Keeps prostitutes 
away from the 
areas of highestcitizen complaints, 
or from engaging 
in the most 
offensive 
behaviors 
the community 
is willing totolerate some 
level of street 
prostitution 
Difficult to get 
prostitutes toadhere to 
agreements 


35 

Response Page No. Response How It Works Considerations 
No. Works Best If 
12. 23 Suspending orrevoking 
government aid 
to prostitutes 
Encourages 
prostitutes to quit 
prostitutes arereceivingsignificantamounts of aid 
without reporting 
prostitutionincome, and aid 
agencies are 
willing to take 
action 
Implications fordependent children; 
requires adequatesocial service 
follow-up; may have 
opposite effect ofpromoting moreprostitution toreplace lost income 
13. 24 Imposing curfewson prostitutes 
Restricts 
prostitutes'working hours 
there are short 
periods duringwhich street 
prostitution ismost prevalent 
Requires judicialorder as a condition 
of bail or 
probation; requiresmonitoring by 
police orcorrections officials 
Special Responses to Deter Clients14. 24 Exposing clientsto publicity 
Shames clients to 
deter them from 
reoffending;
discourages 
potential clients 
the community 
and media 
support publicshaming, and 
most clients 
solicit from 
vehicles 
Media reluctance to 
publicizeinformation deemed 
unnewsworthy; risks 
arousing suspicionsagainst innocent 
people; legal 
restrictions; privacy 
concerns; the 
potential forgeographicdisplacement 
15. 25 Notifying thosewith influence 
over clients' 
conduct 
Creates 
meaningfulconsequences forclients' conduct 
clients are 
influenced by 
informal social 
controls 
The penalty may beharsher than some 
believe is fair (e.g., 
termination from 
employment) 


Response Page No. Response How It Works Considerations 
No. Works Best If 
16. 26 Restricting clients'ability to drive 
Deters curb-
crawling 
most clients 
solicit from 
vehicles 
Legal challenges 
and restrictions; low 
rates of compliancewith license 
suspensions andrevocations 
Helping Prostitutes17. 26 Helpingprostitutes to quit 
Provides 
prostitutes withsupport services 
to enable them to 
leave prostitution;
health screeningand education 
prevents the 
spread of sexuallytransmitted 
diseases 
there are 
adequate andeffective social 
services available, 
and there are 
sufficient 
sanctions for 
noncompliance 
Street prostitutes, 
especially juveniles 
and those managed 
by pimps, are 
difficult to 
persuade; privacyconsiderations; 
prostitutes can behard to reach 
and/or reluctant to 
accept treatment 
(e.g., for fear of 
losing custody oftheir children) 
18. 27 Encouragingprostitutes toreport serious 
offenses to the 
police 
Improves the 
police ability toinvestigate serious 
offenses that 
might otherwisego unreported 
and/or unsolved 
police canestablish a 
sufficient level of 
trust amongprostitutes 
Prostitutes' giving 
evidence against 
pimps increases therisks of violent 
retaliation 
19. 27 Distributinginformation about 
known dangerous 
clients to 
prostitutes 
Reduces the risk 
of physicalassaults to 
prostitutes 
police canestablish a 
sufficient level of 
trust amongprostitutes 
Police can be 
accused of 
condoningprostitution 
Changing the Environment 
20. 27 Closing streetsand alleys, 
diverting traffic orregulating parking 
Increases the 
difficulty forclients to find and 
negotiate with 
prostitutes 
the community 
the changes affect 
supports them, 
and most clients 
solicit from 
vehicles 
Potentially costly;
can harm legitimatecommercial traffic;
may lock the 
problem in ratherthan forcing it out,
by creating aninaccessible enclave;
slowing traffic may 
be conducive to 
curb-crawling 


37 

Response Page No. Response How It Works Considerations 
No. Works Best If 
21. 28 Enforcing zoning,
nuisance 
abatement and 
business license 
regulationsagainst properties 
used for 
prostitution 
Restricts the 
availability oflocations for 
sexual activities; 
discourages the 
use of motels and 
hotels for 
prostitution 
sexual 
transactions take 
place onproperties subjectto regulation 
Civil law processescan be cumbersome 
and unfamiliar to 
police; requires 
support from 
government lawyers 
22. 28 Warning property 
owners about the 
use of their 
premises forprostitution 
Improves 
property owners' 
capacity orwillingness toprohibitprostitution-
related activities 
on their property 
sexual 
transactions take 
place on thoseproperties 
Some property 
owners may feelthey are beingunfairly accused 
23. 28 Redeveloping the 
area economy 
Promotes 
legitimate activity 
to displaceillegitimate activity 
improvements 
will substantiallychange the 
conditions that 
allow street 
prostitution toflourish 
Costly in the short 
term; potentialdisplacement tomore vulnerable 
areas 
24. 29 Securingabandoned 
buildings 
Keeps prostitutesand clients from 
having private 
places for sexualtransactions 
sexual 
transactions take 
place inabandoned 
buildings 
Costs of securingbuildings; potentialdisplacement toother locations 
25. 29 Enhancinglighting 
Improves the 
area's appearance;
improves natural 
surveillance to 
lighting isinadequate, and 
sexual 
transactions take 
Costs of lighting 
deter prostitution place in dark,
secluded places 
Responses with Limited Effectiveness26. 29 Conducting 
sweeps 
Temporarily 
removes 
prostitutes andclients from the 
streets 
Undermines the 
criminal justicesystem and policeintegrity; risks 
arresting innocentpeople 


Response Page No. Response How It Works Considerations 
No. Works Best If 
27. 30 Harassing andintimidatingprostitutes 
Discourages 
prostitutes fromoffending 
Undermines police 
integrity; 
geographicallydisplaces theproblem 
28. 30 Establishingformal or 
informal red-lightdistricts where 
street prostitutionis tolerated 
Reduces nuisance 
complaints;
increases the 
police ability tomonitor street 
prostitution andrelated crime 
the community 
is willing totolerate some 
level of street 
prostitution, and 
the red-lightdistrict can be 
adequately policedand will not 
attract additional 
clients from other 
communities 
Legality (ruled 
unconstitutional in 
Canada as a local 
option); the 
expansion of street 
prostitution out ofthe tolerance zones;
lack of public 
support; ineffective 
in reducing nuisance 
complaints or harm 
to prostitutes undersome conditions;
implies that policecondone 
prostitution 
29. 30 Legalization and 
decriminalization 
of prostitution 
Legalization 
subjectsprostitution toadministrative 
regulation 
Not politicallyfeasible in 
foreseeable future 
in U.S., U.K. and 
Canada 


Endnotes 

1 Goldstein (1990).
2 Benson and Matthews (1995); Hodgson (1997); Matthews (1993); van Gelder and Kaplan

(1992). 
3 Cohen (1980); May, Edmunds and Hough (1999); van Gelder and Kaplan (1992). 
4 Weitzer (2000). 
5 Cohen (1980). 
6 May, Edmunds and Hough (1999); Sterk and Elifson (1990). 
7 Weitzer (1999). 
8 Benson and Matthews (2000). 
9 Matthews (1997); Lowman (1992). 
10 Weitzer (1999). 
11 Eck and Spelman (1987); Sampson and Scott (2000); Benson and Matthews (2000); 

Lowman (1992); Larsen (1996); Getz (1996). 
12 Weidner (1999); Buffalo Prostitution Task Force (1999); Weitzer (1999). 
13 Hubbard (1998). 
14 Weitzer (2000). 
15 San Diego Police Department (1994); San Bernardino Police Department (1999). 
16 Larsen (1996). 
17 Lowman (1992). 
18 Sampson and Scott (2000). 
19 Benson and Matthews (1995). 
20 Canada Department of Justice (1989). 
21 Getz (1996). 
22 Benson and Matthews (2000). 
23 Weitzer (1999). 
24 Sampson and Scott (2000). 
25 Golding (1994); Buffalo Prostitution Task Force (1999); Sampson and Scott (2000). 
26 Benson and Matthews (1995); Weidner (1999); Weitzer (1999). 
27 Matthews (1997); Larsen (1996). 
28 Sampson and Scott (2000). 
29 Weidner (1999). 
30 Portland Police Bureau and Campbell Resources Inc. (1991). 
31 Spelman (1993); Sampson and Scott (2000). 
32 Sampson and Scott (2000). 
33 Benson and Matthews (1995); Golding (1994). 


References 

Benson, C., and R. Matthews (2000). Police and Prostitution: 
Vice Squads in Britain. In R. Weitzer (ed.), Sex for Sale: 
Prostitution, Pornography, and the Sex Industry. New York: 
Routledge. 

 (1995). "Street Prostitution: Ten Facts in Search of a 
Policy." International Journal of the Sociology of Law 23(4):395-
415. 

Buffalo Prostitution Task Force (1999). "Workable Solutions 
to the Problem of Street Prostitution in Buffalo." Report. 
Buffalo, N.Y.: Buffalo Prostitution Task Force. 

Canada Department of Justice Research Section (1989). 
"Street Prostitution: Assessing the Impact of the Law." 
Synthesis report. Ottawa: Canada Department of Justice. 

Cohen, B. (1980). Deviant Street Networks: Prostitution in New 
York City. Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books. 

Eck, J., and W. Spelman (1987). Problem-Solving: Problem-Oriented 
Policing in Newport News. Washington, D.C.: Police Executive 
Research Forum. 

Getz, R. (1996). "High-Profile Program Successfully Drives 
Prostitutes Out of Town." Community Policing Exchange 
November/December:6. 

Golding, R. (1994). "Prostitution in Holland." Policing 
10(1):48-57. 

Goldstein, H. (1990). Problem-Oriented Policing. New York: 
McGraw-Hill. 

Hodgson, J. (1997). Games Pimps Play: A Qualitative Analysis of 
Street Prostitution. Toronto: Canadian Scholar's Press. 


Hubbard, P. (1998). "Community Action and the 
Displacement of Street Prostitution: Evidence From British 
Cities." Geoforum 29(3):269-286. 

Larsen, N. (1996). "The Effect of Different Police 
Enforcement Policies on the Control of Prostitution. 
Canadian Public PolicyAnalyse de Politiques 22(1):40-55. 

Lowman, J. (1992). "Street Prostitution Control: Some 
Canadian Reflections on the Finsbury Park Experience." 
British Journal of Criminology 32(1):1-17. 

Matthews, R. (1997). "Developing More Effective Strategies 
for Curbing Prostitution." In R. Clarke (ed.), Situational 
Crime Prevention: Successful Case Studies (2nd ed.). Guilderland, 
N.Y.: Harrow and Heston. 

Matthews, R. (1993). Kerb-crawling, Prostitution and Multi-agency 
Policing. Crime Prevention Unit Series, Paper 43. London: Home 
Office. 

May, T., A. Harocopos and M. Hough (2000). For Love or 
Money: Pimps and the Management of Sex Work. Police Research 
Series, Paper 134. London: Home Office. 

May, T., M. Edmunds and M. Hough (1999). Street Business: 
The Links Between Sex and Drug Markets. Police Research Series, 
Paper 118. London: Home Office. 

Persons, C. (1996). "Sex in the Sunlight: The Effectiveness, 
Efficiency, Constitutionality, and Advisability of Publishing 
Names and Pictures of Prostitutes' Patrons." Vanderbilt Law 
Review 49:1525-1575. 

Portland Police Bureau and Campbell Resources Inc. (1991). 
Crime Prevention in Overnight Lodging: A Guide to Preventing 
Drug Activity, Prostitution and Other Illegal Behavior in Hotels and 
Motels. Portland, Ore.: City of Portland. 


References 

Sampson, R., and M. Scott (eds.) (2000). "A Prostitution 
Problem in National City, Calif." Tackling Crime and Other 
Public-Safety Problems: Case Studies in Problem-Solving. 
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice. 

San Bernardino (Calif.) Police Department (1999). 
"Prostitution Restraining Order Program." Submission for 
the Herman Goldstein Award for Excellence in Problem-
Oriented Policing. 

San Diego Police Department (1994). "Temporary Restraining 
Order Keeps Prostitutes Off Streets." Problem Solving 
Quarterly 7(3/4):3,10-11. 

Spelman, W. (1993). "Abandoned Buildings: Magnets for 
Crime?" Journal of Criminal Justice 21:481-495. 

Sterk, C. and K. Elifson. (1990). "Drug-Related Violence and 
Street Prostitution." In M. De La Rosa, E. Lambert and B. 
Gropper (eds.). Drugs and Violence: Causes, Correlates and 
Consequences. NIDA Research Monograph 103. Rockville, 
Md.: U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse. 

van Gelder, P. and C. Kaplan. (1992). "The Finishing 
Moment: Temporal and Spatial Features of Sexual 
Interactions Between Streetwalkers and Car Clients. Human 
Organization 51(3): 253-263. 

Weidner, R. (1999). "'I Won't Do Manhattan': A Study of the 
Causes and Consequences of a Decline in Street 
Prostitution." Ph.D. diss., Rutgers University. 

Weitzer, R. (ed.) (2000). Sex for Sale: Prostitution, Pornography 
and the Sex Industry. New York: Routledge. 

Weitzer, R. (1999). "Prostitution Control in America: 
Rethinking Public Policy. Crime, Law & Social Change 32:83-
102. 


About the Author 

Michael S. Scott 

Michael S. Scott is an independent police consultant based in 
Savannah, Ga. He was formerly chief of police in Lauderhill, 
Fla.; served in various civilian administrative positions in the 
St. Louis Metropolitan, Ft. Pierce, Fla., and New York City 
police departments; and was a police officer in the Madison, 
Wis., Police Department. Scott developed training programs 
in problem-oriented policing at the Police Executive Research 
Forum (PERF), and is a judge for PERF's Herman Goldstein 
Award for Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing. He is the 
author of Problem-Oriented Policing: Reflections on the First 20 
Years, and coauthor (with Rana Sampson) of Tackling Crime 
and Other Public-Safety Problems: Case Studies in Problem-Solving. 

Scott holds a law degree from Harvard Law School and a 
bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 


Recommended Readings 

 
A Police Guide to Surveying Citizens and Their 
Environments, Bureau of Justice Assistance, 1993. This 
guide offers a practical introduction for police practitioners 
to two types of surveys that police find useful: surveying 
public opinion and surveying the physical environment. It 
provides guidance on whether and how to conduct cost-
effective surveys. 
 
Assessing Responses to Problems: An Introductory 
Guide for Police Problem Solvers, by John E. Eck (U.S. 
Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented 
Policing Services, 2001). This guide is a companion to the 
Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series. It provides basic 
guidance to measuring and assessing problem-oriented 
policing efforts. Available at www.cops.usdoj.gov. 
 
Conducting Community Surveys, by Deborah Weisel 
(Bureau of Justice Statistics and Office of Community 
Oriented Policing Services, 1999). This guide, along with 
accompanying computer software, provides practical, basic 
pointers for police in conducting community surveys. The 
document is also available at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs. 
 
Crime Prevention Studies, edited by Ronald V. Clarke 
(Criminal Justice Press, 1993, et seq.). This is a series of 
volumes of applied and theoretical research on reducing 
opportunities for crime. Many chapters are evaluations of 
initiatives to reduce specific crime and disorder problems. 


 
Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing: The 1999 
Herman Goldstein Award Winners. This document 
produced by the National Institute of Justice in 
collaboration with the Office of Community Oriented 
Policing Services and the Police Executive Research Forum 
provides detailed reports of the best submissions to the 
annual award program that recognizes exemplary problem-
oriented responses to various community problems. A 
similar publication is available for the award winners from 
subsequent years. The documents are also available at 
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij. 
 
Not Rocket Science? Problem-Solving and Crime 
Reduction, by Tim Read and Nick Tilley (Home Office 
Crime Reduction Research Series, 2000). Identifies and 
describes the factors that make problem-solving effective or 
ineffective as it is being practiced in police forces in 
England and Wales. 
 
Opportunity Makes the Thief: Practical Theory for 
Crime Prevention, by Marcus Felson and Ronald V. Clarke 
(Home Office Police Research Series, Paper No. 98, 1998). 
Explains how crime theories such as routine activity theory, 
rational choice theory and crime pattern theory have 
practical implications for the police in their efforts to 
prevent crime. 
 
Problem-Oriented Policing, by Herman Goldstein 
(McGraw-Hill, 1990, and Temple University Press, 1990). 
Explains the principles and methods of problem-oriented 
policing, provides examples of it in practice, and discusses 
how a police agency can implement the concept. 


Recommended Readings 

 
Problem-Oriented Policing: Reflections on the First 20 
Years, by Michael S. Scott (U.S. Department of Justice, 
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2000). 
Describes how the most critical elements of Herman 
Goldstein's problem-oriented policing model have 
developed in practice over its 20-year history, and proposes 
future directions for problem-oriented policing. The report 
is also available at www.cops.usdoj.gov. 
 
Problem-Solving: Problem-Oriented Policing in Newport 
News, by John E. Eck and William Spelman (Police 
Executive Research Forum, 1987). Explains the rationale 
behind problem-oriented policing and the problem-solving 
process, and provides examples of effective problem-
solving in one agency. 
 
Problem-Solving Tips: A Guide to Reducing Crime and 
Disorder Through Problem-Solving Partnerships by 
Karin Schmerler, Matt Perkins, Scott Phillips, Tammy 
Rinehart, and Meg Townsend (U.S. Department of Justice, 
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 1998) 
(also available at www.cops.usdoj.gov). Provides a brief 
introduction to problem-solving, basic information on the 
SARA model and detailed suggestions about the problem-
solving process. 
 
Situational Crime Prevention: Successful Case Studies, 
Second Edition, edited by Ronald V. Clarke (Harrow and 
Heston, 1997). Explains the principles and methods of 
situational crime prevention, and presents over 20 case 
studies of effective crime prevention initiatives. 


 
Tackling Crime and Other Public-Safety Problems: Case 
Studies in Problem-Solving, by Rana Sampson and 
Michael S. Scott (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of 
Community Oriented Policing Services, 2000) (also available 
at www.cops.usdoj.gov). Presents case studies of effective 
police problem-solving on 18 types of crime and disorder 
problems. 
 
Using Analysis for Problem-Solving: A Guidebook for 
Law Enforcement, by Timothy S. Bynum (U.S. 
Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented 
Policing Services, 2001) (also available at 
www.cops.usdoj.gov). Provides an introduction for police 
to analyzing problems within the context of problem-
oriented policing. 
 
Using Research: A Primer for Law Enforcement 
Managers, Second Edition, by John E. Eck and Nancy G. 
LaVigne (Police Executive Research Forum, 1994). Explains 
many of the basics of research as it applies to police 
management and problem-solving. 


Other Guides in This Series 

Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series (available at 
www.cops.usdoj.gov): 

1. 
Assaults in and Around Bars. Michael S. Scott. 2001. 
2. 
Street Prostitution. Michael S. Scott. 2001. 
3. 
Speeding in Residential Areas. Michael S. Scott. 2001. 
4. 
Drug Dealing in Privately Owned Apartment Complexes. 
Rana Sampson. 2001. 
5. 
False Burglar Alarms. Rana Sampson. 2001. 
6. 
Disorderly Youth in Public Places. Michael S. Scott. 2001. 
7. 
Loud Car Stereos. Michael S. Scott. 2001. 
8. 
Robbery at Automated Teller Machines. Michael S. Scott. 2001. 
9. 
Graffiti. Deborah Lamm Weisel. 2002. 
10. 
Thefts of and From Cars in Parking Facilities. Ronald V. 
Clarke. 2002. 
11. 
Shoplifting. Ronald V. Clarke. 2002. 
12. 
Bullying in Schools. Rana Sampson. 2002. 
13. 
Panhandling. Michael S. Scott. 2002. 
14. 
Rave Parties. Michael S. Scott. 2002. 
15. 
Burglary of Retail Establishments. Ronald V. Clarke. 2002. 
16. 
Clandestine Drug Labs. Michael S. Scott. 2002. 
17. 
Acquaintance Rape of College Students. Rana Sampson. 2002. 
18. 
Burglary of Single-Family Houses. Deborah Lamm Weisel. 
2002. 
19. 
Misuse and Abuse of 911. Rana Sampson. 2002. 

Companion guide to the Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series: 

 Assessing Responses to Problems: An Introductory Guide for 
Police Problem-Solvers. John E. Eck. 2002. 


Other Related COPS Office Publications 

 
Using Analysis for Problem-Solving: A Guidebook for Law 
Enforcement. Timothy S. Bynum. 
 
Problem-Oriented Policing: Reflections on the First 20 Years. 

Michael S. Scott. 2001. 

 
Tackling Crime and Other Public-Safety Problems: Case 
Studies in Problem-Solving. Rana Sampson and Michael S. Scott. 
2000. 
 
Community Policing, Community Justice, and Restorative 
Justice: Exploring the Links for the Delivery of a Balanced 
Approach to Public Safety. Caroline G. Nicholl. 1999. 
 
Toolbox for Implementing Restorative Justice and Advancing 
Community Policing. Caroline G. Nicholl. 2000. 
 
Problem-Solving Tips: A Guide to Reducing Crime and 
Disorder Through Problem-Solving Partnerships. Karin 
Schmerler, Matt Perkins, Scott Phillips, Tammy Rinehart and 
Meg Townsend. 1998. 

For more information about the Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series 
and other COPS Office publications, please call the Department of 
Justice Response Center at 1-800-421-6770 or check our website at 
www.cops.usdoj.gov. 


FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

U.S. Department of JusticeOffice of Community Oriented Policing Services 

1100 Vermont Avenue, NW 
Washington, D.C. 20530 

To obtain details on COPS programs, call the 

U.S. Department of Justice Response Center at 1.800.421.6770

Visit the COPS internet web site by the address listed below. 

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