Mr Hicks argues that prostitution is a political and social problem. He knows too that rows over tackling vice are significant because they are symbolic. They go to the heart of his strategy for policing Sheffield. Clarence Swindell, chairman of the police authority, thinks he knows the solution to cutting crime. And nobody will ever persuade me that the answer is not more uniformed officers on the street.
People behave themselves when they see a police officer on patrol.
It is a simple as that. Mr Hicks does not agree. He is in charge of one of the busiest city centres in the country. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people commute to Sheffield, and the central area a resident population of 100,000. Most of them would be surprised to learn the number of officers Mr Hicks has on standby to protect them.