SEX, DRUGS PUSH DOWN CENTRAL-CITY NEIGHBORHOOD

The 18 square city blocks of Davenport police reporting Area 6E make up
only a small fraction of the city's entire area of approximately 13,400
square blocks.

But vice officers know the tiny sliver of central city centered around West
2nd and 3rd streets immediately west of Gaines Street as Davenport's
perennial ground zero when it comes to battling prostitution.

When complaints from citizens and businesses about the sex-for-money trade
get too hot and heavy, that is where undercover officers go to conduct
periodic sweeps that net dozens of men seeking prostitutes.

Over the past five years, according to annual crime figures compiled and
published by police, 60 percent of all prostitution busts have come in Area
6E, one of 84 reporting areas around Davenport.

Until recently, it was also the location of three of the city's adult
businesses, including two that police consider among the most troublesome.
Those are Sugar's, at 1037 W. 3rd St., Kings International, at 814 W. 3rd
St., which is now closed, and Venus News, 902 W. 3rd St.

The area also accounts for 7.12 percent of all the city's drug violations,
among the highest in the city.

The connection hardly comes by accident, said Jim Stark, a vice officer who
has worked undercover to make prostitution cases at adult businesses and on
the street.

"There is a definite link between drugs and prostitution," he said. "Many
of the girls you pick up on the streets are doing it for drugs. The amount
they charge varies with the price of drugs. Crack (cocaine) is the drug of
choice."

Those who own property or do business in the area say the lopsided
statistics for the small portion of the city come as little surprise.
Activity that looks suspiciously like drug trafficking and johns who cruise
the area are sometimes almost as common as normal traffic.

James Patten of Midwest Publishing, a printing company in the 1000 block of
West 3rd Street, sees suspicious activity in the neighborhood and "girls
walking up and down who sure look the part of prostitutes."

Patten does not know whether the adult businesses in the neighborhood have
anything to do with it, but they are bad for the area, he said. Last year,
his shop was broken into, even though the burglars apparently did not take
anything.

"They don't belong near businesses and residences," he said. "There are a
lot of kids living around here, and it's bad for them. We get-off-the-wall
remarks from some of our clients. It doesn't enhance the area's image."

Illini Investments owns property in the 800 block of West 3rd Street, said
Nick Pappas of the company. While the neighborhood has a lot of problems,
the adult businesses contribute to its undesirability.

While certain crime statistics for the area may seem high, Cpl. Mark
Berger, a crime prevention officer for the Davenport police, said the area
is so small that it probably gets a lot of attention from patrols. Because
of that, officers can develop detailed knowledge of what goes on in the area.

"There is no way I would say that the city's drug problem rests down
there," he said. "It's probably spread out all over the city."

As for the high percentage of the city's prostitution busts, Berger said,
that probably can be traced to the bars and adult businesses in the area.

At Quad-Cities Vineyard Christian Center in the 800 block of West 3rd
Street, Pastor Patrick Street talks to some of the prostitutes who offer
sex for money on the streets. Many are involved with drugs such as crack or
heroin.

"They say they are trapped in a lifestyle," Street said of some of his
conversations. "They say, 'I hate what I'm doing, but I'm hooked.' "

People who might otherwise come to his church are afraid to because of the
activity associated with the area and the adult businesses, he said.
Parents are afraid for the safety of their children. Others fear they may
find themselves in a situation where they are in the wrong place at the
wrong time and wind up the victim of a crime.

But for a church with a strong desire to minister to the needy and follow
in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, there is probably no better place in the
city to be located, Street said.

"I believe we're doing God's work down here and us being here would be near
and dear to his heart," he added.