this bugs the hell out of me.

why when cops are hunting for johns, and arrest them, why dont they arrest the crowd of hookers around the corner???? the're right there!!! one john gets years in jail but a hooker smoking weed or breakin any other law gets off scott free.
the message cops send by doing this is that its bad to use a hookers service, but its OK to be a hooker when you grow up, because they dont arrest them! does that sound crooked to anyone else?! im confused!

can someone please explain what cops are blinded by not to arrest hookers along with johns...

Hookers usually don't have money to pay fines with or reputations to ruin. The Johns might.

edited because I thought I had something useful to add... but realized I should've left my fingers off the keyboard just a few seconds longer... now I'm stuck with a useless post.

sorry... carry on.

[edit on 30-3-2006 by fattyp]

Originally posted by fattypnow I'm stuck with a useless post.
sorry... carry on.

are you reffering to my post or your post here?

So far as I know the thinking behind it is that if they arrest and charge the johns and then deter them from kerb crawling, then the clients will disappear and the prostitutes will go out of business.

Of course it doesn't work though.

They say prostitution is the worlds oldest profession and it probably is.

The only way to control it is to legalise it and then contain it in a certain area.

Originally posted by worksoftplayhard
why when cops are hunting for johns, and arrest them, why dont they arrest the crowd of hookers around the corner????

I think it is because they have to catch them in the act of breaking a law before they can be arrested unless they want to arrest them or cite them for loitering in an area.

Originally posted by worksoftplayhardthe message cops send by doing this is that its bad to use a hookers service, but its OK to be a hooker when you grow up, because they dont arrest them! does that sound crooked to anyone else?! im confused!

If I can use the tv show COPS as a source, I have heard various police on there say that they want to scare away the johns so that the "demand" for the prostitutes dries up. No demand - no supply. I have heard a couple of them further remark that they are tired of arresting a prostitute multiple times to only have them monetarily fined and put right back on the streets. The police said they felt that they could make a greater impact by arresting a john and scaring him away for life than they can by arresting the prositute.

JDub

EDIT: James - you beat me by one minute!

[edit on 3/31/2006 by BlueTileSpook]

Just like BlueTileSpook said, they have to be caught in the act.
A bunch of hookers standing on the corner really isn't illegal unless there is a loitering law in the area and even then it's rarely worth an arrest.

The reason why hookers do get arrested for a lot of little offences where they can get out pretty quickly is because it's all the cops can get on them.

If a woman is already desperate enough that she'd sell her body on the street, simply arresting her isn't going to stop her. But if you arrest the guys that are using these women, then they will not repeat and others will be discouraged.

Also, since when do they not arrest the women that are soliciting and accepting money? Clearly they can't arrest women for standing on the street corner, but I have never heard of the cops arresting the guy who solicits a protstitute and not the prostitute herself.

Nygdan -

I was referring more to the cops setting up a sting to where a female officer is involved, so she is not arrested at the consumation of the sting, but the john is.

Also, referring back to the tv show COPS, the officer I remember was from Philly (I think). He is an african-american officer that is kinda heavy-set that looked to work mostly by himself. He was on a first-name basis with several of the street walkers, and I have seen him ticket the john and ticket the prostitute, I have seen him ticket the john and talk sternly to the prostitute and then let her walk away, and I have seen him talk sternly to the john and the prostitute and then let them both walk away.

While that show may not show the official policy of the department, it was just what I observed during the show.

And yes, I realize that COPS is not a viable news source, so what I am bringing up is pretty much anecdotal. I don't mean to show any agenda or say, "Since it was on COPS, it has to be true!" Since I am not out using the services of prositutes, it is as close as I can come to showing what I know about the subject.

Just take it as it was meant - opinion.

Cheers,

JDub