Operation Dismantle
Prostitutes do it to finance drug habit
THEY risk being beaten, robbed and even raped.
But Bournemouth's street prostitutes don't heed the risks - they just need to get enough money to pay for their drug addiction.
Police in Bournemouth say most, if not all, of the women working in the town's red light area do so to fund their class A drug habit.
And by paying to have sex with a Bournemouth street prostitute, the men are estimated to be putting £2 million into the local drugs market each year.
Inspector Matt Baxter, who oversees the running of Operation Planet for Bournemouth's on-street prostitution and Operation Achilles for dealing with brothels, said: "Most on-street prostitutes have a drug dependency and that simply is the only reason that they work on the streets. It is very, very rare that you will find a prostitute on the street who doesn't have a high dependency on drugs and it is very rare to find someone doing it out of poverty.
"Often a girl or woman will work not only to fund their own drug habit but also that of their boyfriend, pimp or partner. They are also positively encouraged into working on the streets by their dealer to pay for their drugs and debts."
When a prostitute is caught soliciting sex, she is issued with a street caution warning her about her behaviour. If she is caught for a third time in any 12 month period, she is arrested and either given a formal conditional caution - which can order her to comply with an exit strategy to get her out of prostitution and into drug treatment - or charged, taken to court and issued with a fine.
Between January 1, 2007, and mid-February this year, seven prostitutes were issued with a street caution, seven were arrested, two were handed a conditional caution to attend drop-in and Dorset Working Women's Project and four were charged.
These figures have dropped dramatically from 2006 to 2007, when 44 were arrested, 42 were given street cautions and 40 were charged.
At the moment the courts only have the power to issue a fine to a prostitute but the government is looking at changing this so they can also issue an order for her to comply with an exit strategy.
Insp Baxter said: "If a girl is taken to court she will be fined. She then has to go out back onto the streets and work to pay the fine, as well as feed her habit. It's just a revolving door.
"The exit strategy aims to get the girls off drugs and give them support so they don't have to work on the streets."
Help is offered through Dimensions - a multi-agency network involving the Police, Dorset Working Women's Project, the Drug Action Team, prison liaison, probation service, Neighbourhood Management, drug treatment centres and Bournemouth Churches Housing Association.
The police also target kerb-crawlers under Operation Planet.
If an individual is caught, it is his first such offence and he admits the offence, he is given a conditional caution to attend the Change Course.
This is a rehabilitation course run by Hampshire Police's vice squad, which encourages him to think about the effects of his actions on the prostitutes and others around him.
If he has been caught kerb-crawling before or been convicted for violence against women, he is not deemed eligible for Change and will be charged and taken to court.
Anyone who doesn't admit the offence is also taken to court. The police say the course has been successful and significantly reduced the number of men seen kerb-crawling.
Only two per cent of the individuals who have attended the Change Course have been caught re-offending.
Between January 2006 and January 2007, 55 kerb crawlers were arrested, 26 were cautioned and sent on the Change Course, 19 were charged but six of these cases were dropped at court and in 10 cases advice was given.
Since January 2007, 18 crawlers have been arrested, 15 were given cautions and sent on the Change Course, two were charged and one person was issued with advice.
ONE was wearing the stereotypical knee-high boots and a short skirt.
Another looked like someone's mum and the third was dressed like a teenager in a baby pink velour tracksuit and baseball cap.
These were the street prostitutes spotted in Bournemouth's red light area early on a Friday evening.
The Daily Echo accompanied Sgt Del Bishop and his colleagues from East Bournemouth's Safer Neighbourhood Team on Operation Planet.
On the first occasion we couldn't see any prostitutes being picked up but we did come across two men acting suspiciously. The officers observed the men and detained one under the Misuse of Drugs Act and carried out a drugs search. No drugs were found but the man was wanted on other matters.
On our second patrol we saw three prostitutes looking for customers and a number of cars being driven around the area.
One prostitute was approached by a man in the street and they headed off towards a block of flats. Searches of the area proved fruitless.
But at 7.15pm officers spotted a prostitute getting into a car. We followed the car through Boscombe and into King's Park car park.
After watching the vehicle, the officers approached the car and made two arrests.
The man was arrested on suspicion of kerb-crawling.
He was taken to the police station and released at 8.30pm, having been told he would be referred to the CPS as a possible candidate to attend the Change Course. The prostitute was issued with a street caution - the second she has received in the last 12 months.
Amazingly at 11 that same night, officers caught the same man picking up a prostitute about 200 yards from where he was seen picking up the first one.
He was arrested on suspicion of kerb-crawling for a second time. The man has been released on police bail pending further enquiries.
On the street
The Daily Echo has been looking at issues involving the area's drug problem to highlight and support Dorset Police's Operation Dismantle campaign.
The campaign is aimed at tackling drug supply and reducing drug related crime and we are encouraging readers to contact Dorset Police on 01202 222222 or Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555111 if they suspect someone of dealing drugs.
7:00pm Tuesday 4th March 2008
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CommentPosted by: sarahinpoole, Poole on 2:08pm Wed 5 Mar 08
Excellent observational journalism!
"one was wearing the stereotypical knee-high boots and a short skirt.
[bold]Another looked like someone's mum[/bold] and the third was dressed like a teenager in a baby pink velour tracksuit and baseball cap."
There are a lot of women that look like someone's mum - all the mums out there!! Is that typical prostitute garb? The Mother Look and how do you define it? As a fairly conservative mother myself I am sure, that like most mums, my usual 'picking-the-kids-up
-from-a-friend's-hou
sef' casual attire doesn't imply prostitution...
Excellent observational journalism!
"one was wearing the stereotypical knee-high boots and a short skirt.
Another looked like someone's mum and the third was dressed like a teenager in a baby pink velour tracksuit and baseball cap."
There are a lot of women that look like someone's mum - all the mums out there!! Is that typical prostitute garb? The Mother Look and how do you define it? As a fairly conservative mother myself I am sure, that like most mums, my usual 'picking-the-kids-up
-from-a-friend's-hou
sef' casual attire doesn't imply prostitution...
Posted by: michael carpenter, BOSCOMBE on 2:16pm Wed 5 Mar 08
AND JUST HOW MANY OF THESE GIRLS WERE ARRESTED AND HOW MANY WERE JUST GIVEN ALARMS.
AND JUST HOW MANY OF THESE GIRLS WERE ARRESTED AND HOW MANY WERE JUST GIVEN ALARMS.
Posted by: muffin the mule, wallisdown on 7:52pm Wed 5 Mar 08
whats the big deal the girl wants the drugs the man wants the sex ,theyre consenting adults they make an informed choice that affects no-one but themselves and the police spend god only knows how much money and man hours on the fruitless pursuit of these people who will cotinue to do what comes naturally ,what has it got to do with the law ? conversely you could spend a hundred quid trying to get the same result in a club on a saturday night and not even get within sniffing distance - perhaps flirting should be out-lawed as well
people from all walks of life kings to judges to politicions to police officers and tramps have all been involved and convicted of using prostitutes so why has the system got its nose in the air about it ,theres **** channels in hotels,magazines in every newsagents,naked women and adverts in the tabloids. we all do it why target this sector its all ,one and the same thing .
leave it alone ,legalise it ,mind your own business and get on with proper policing ,who gives two hoots what someones mum is doing to earn a crust ,not me for sure
whats the big deal the girl wants the drugs the man wants the sex ,theyre consenting adults they make an informed choice that affects no-one but themselves and the police spend god only knows how much money and man hours on the fruitless pursuit of these people who will cotinue to do what comes naturally ,what has it got to do with the law ? conversely you could spend a hundred quid trying to get the same result in a club on a saturday night and not even get within sniffing distance - perhaps flirting should be out-lawed as well
people from all walks of life kings to judges to politicions to police officers and tramps have all been involved and convicted of using prostitutes so why has the system got its nose in the air about it ,theres **** channels in hotels,magazines in every newsagents,naked women and adverts in the tabloids. we all do it why target this sector its all ,one and the same thing .
leave it alone ,legalise it ,mind your own business and get on with proper policing ,who gives two hoots what someones mum is doing to earn a crust ,not me for sure
Posted by: De La Pole, bournemouth on 3:49pm Wed 14 May 08
Looking for sex is just a derivative of looking at women as sexual objects: I think also it’s an identification of society's contradictory emergent behaviour. Stemming, in this case from gender representation by some media's. The Garage's are full pornographic material and across the road at the Train Station in Bournemouth prostitution goe’s on like it's an everyday thing. I believe men ought to know better and its media's responsibility to inform them, where and how and why these contradictions occur, trouble is where would the funding come from, the bourgeois engine known as the government and capitalism, now that would be a contradiction! They say prostitution is the ‘oldest trade’ in the world, I think ‘salves to our very own ignorance’ might be a little more pertinent.
Looking for sex is just a derivative of looking at women as sexual objects: I think also it’s an identification of society's contradictory emergent behaviour. Stemming, in this case from gender representation by some media's. The Garage's are full pornographic material and across the road at the Train Station in Bournemouth prostitution goe’s on like it's an everyday thing. I believe men ought to know better and its media's responsibility to inform them, where and how and why these contradictions occur, trouble is where would the funding come from, the bourgeois engine known as the government and capitalism, now that would be a contradiction! They say prostitution is the ‘oldest trade’ in the world, I think ‘salves to our very own ignorance’ might be a little more pertinent.
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