ExistentialHedonist

Monday, November 06, 2006

Public Resources Wasted on Prostitution Stings

I let my blog go for over a year because I just never thought I would have the time to post often. Amazingly people found me and linked to me. Wow! This blogging community is far smaller than I imagined. I still haven't been very public about this space and I don't think I will be. It is nice that only a couple of people know I'm here.

I was speaking with a neighbor the other night and we were discussing the amount of waste that goes into prosecuting the sex industry. Remember the teacher in Baltimore who was arrested for prostitution? Imagine how much crime is going on in Baltimore- violent crime- and how much money it took for the police to investigate and arrest this woman. Well, an article on that very subject recently appeared in response to increases in stings being carried out in the Baltimore area.

A quote from the article:
"In 2005, police officers across the state of Maryland arrested more people on prostitution charges (1,898) than they did on charges of forcible rape (418), arson (572) and various other sex offenses (1,312). Howard police are on pace to triple their prostitution arrests this year. They’ve locked up 52 people, including Britton, on charges of prostitution this year, compared to 18 in all of 2005."

I suppose one of these days some mother will finally get upset when her
daughter's murder has been pushed to one side because the available police are
too busy pursuing "criminals" like Ms. Britton.

From another article on the case:

“I counted 11 officers at one point,” Britton says. “They were armed. Their faces were covered. They had automatic weapons, and they were shouting, ‘Down! Clear!’ They dumped out every drawer, everywhere. I was visibly shaken because there were 10 guys with machine guns.

“They started taking dishes and just throwing them on the floor and
destroying them. They said, ‘Are you going to tell us that you’re a prostitute?’
I said, ‘I’m not, and I want an attorney.’ ”

ELEVEN cops?? Face masks?? Automatic weapons?

Go get 'em, tough guys!