ChipOC
09-26-2008, 11:35 AM
Happy Rebel, are you the undercover cop? Did you catch TG? ;)
http://www.baylor.edu/lariat/news.php?action=story&story=53109
Prostitution sting busts 18 suspects
Sept. 24, 2008 By Jade Ortego
Staff Writer
A prostitution sting in north and east Waco landed 18 arrests Thursday and Friday.
The Waco Police Department Drug Enforcement Unit arrested 16 men and two women.
Four were arrested at 16th Street and Barnard Street; two were at 20th Street and Morrow Street; one was at 15th Street and Sanger Avenue; three were at Hillsboro Drive and Arra Street; and eight were at 15th Street and Morrow Street.
Stings are conducted by plainclothed police officers that act as either prostitutes or "Johns," solicitors of prostitutes.
A female cop will dress as a prostitute and wait for people to solicit sex from her.
"Sting operations, especially those that publicize the names of the 'Johns,' are effective at curbing the demand for prostitute services," said Dr. Carson Mencken, an associate professor of sociology at Baylor, in an e-mail.
The number of arrests is considerably lower than in the two stings conducted last summer. Officers arrested 60 suspects in the first sting and 42 suspects in the second.
Anderson said that the decline is probably in part due to street crime units working in areas of town where complaints of prostitution have been made.
"You get complaints from the public, and obviously the (closely patrolled areas) are areas of open-air drug trafficking and what is believed to be prostitution.
You saturate the area with officers and the word gets around we're working this area pretty heavily," he said. Officers usually investigate areas with complaints of drug use and loitering.
"Is this the only reason (for the decline)? No, probably not. But maybe this is a main contributor. We definitely think so," Anderson said.
Eleven of the arrested in the sting operation had no history of violent crime and were not put in jail.
Instead, they were issued a summons to appear at the "John School" at the Municipal Court Oct. 2.
A "John School" is a one-day intervention class for first-time solicitation of prostitution offenders, who must pay $200 to attend and stay out of jail.
"It's mainly to teach (offenders) that you don't know what kind of diseases you're going to bring home to your wife or your girlfriend," Anderson said. "Maybe we can get that message out to men who go and pick up hookers."
"Prostitution is one of the so-called 'victimless' crimes.It tends to be prevalent in areas where there are a dearth of economic opportunities for women, places where women lack basic job skills, and in places where women are easily exploited,"Mencken said.
The offense of solicitation of prostitution is classified as a Class B misdemeanor and can carry a sentence of up to 180 days in jail and/or a fine of $2000, according to the City of Waco Web site.
http://www.baylor.edu/lariat/news.php?action=story&story=53109
Prostitution sting busts 18 suspects
Sept. 24, 2008 By Jade Ortego
Staff Writer
A prostitution sting in north and east Waco landed 18 arrests Thursday and Friday.
The Waco Police Department Drug Enforcement Unit arrested 16 men and two women.
Four were arrested at 16th Street and Barnard Street; two were at 20th Street and Morrow Street; one was at 15th Street and Sanger Avenue; three were at Hillsboro Drive and Arra Street; and eight were at 15th Street and Morrow Street.
Stings are conducted by plainclothed police officers that act as either prostitutes or "Johns," solicitors of prostitutes.
A female cop will dress as a prostitute and wait for people to solicit sex from her.
"Sting operations, especially those that publicize the names of the 'Johns,' are effective at curbing the demand for prostitute services," said Dr. Carson Mencken, an associate professor of sociology at Baylor, in an e-mail.
The number of arrests is considerably lower than in the two stings conducted last summer. Officers arrested 60 suspects in the first sting and 42 suspects in the second.
Anderson said that the decline is probably in part due to street crime units working in areas of town where complaints of prostitution have been made.
"You get complaints from the public, and obviously the (closely patrolled areas) are areas of open-air drug trafficking and what is believed to be prostitution.
You saturate the area with officers and the word gets around we're working this area pretty heavily," he said. Officers usually investigate areas with complaints of drug use and loitering.
"Is this the only reason (for the decline)? No, probably not. But maybe this is a main contributor. We definitely think so," Anderson said.
Eleven of the arrested in the sting operation had no history of violent crime and were not put in jail.
Instead, they were issued a summons to appear at the "John School" at the Municipal Court Oct. 2.
A "John School" is a one-day intervention class for first-time solicitation of prostitution offenders, who must pay $200 to attend and stay out of jail.
"It's mainly to teach (offenders) that you don't know what kind of diseases you're going to bring home to your wife or your girlfriend," Anderson said. "Maybe we can get that message out to men who go and pick up hookers."
"Prostitution is one of the so-called 'victimless' crimes.It tends to be prevalent in areas where there are a dearth of economic opportunities for women, places where women lack basic job skills, and in places where women are easily exploited,"Mencken said.
The offense of solicitation of prostitution is classified as a Class B misdemeanor and can carry a sentence of up to 180 days in jail and/or a fine of $2000, according to the City of Waco Web site.