LAW ENFORCEMENT GAINS LITTLE GROUND BATTLING PROSTITUTION

Drug Rehab Bills Aim At Behavior Change

TAMPA - Jackie Rose can sniff out undercover cops in a flash - a valuable
skill for a career street corner prostitute.

"I've been out here 17 years - I know all of them," Rose says. "I remember
when the lieutenants were rookies."

And when an unfamiliar face propositions, experienced hookers like Rose
have a simple test: They ask him to unzip and show himself.

A refusal probably means the man is a police officer, and the deal is off.

But a 1999 ordinance gives police an advantage. Now such a query can be
greeted with handcuffs. The charge: committing an "unlawful act as a
precursor to prostitution."

The law is one of several new ways to fight the world's oldest profession.

"We need to change our style," Tampa City Councilwoman Rose Ferlita says.
"We need to take this to a different level."

The precursor ordinance helps police get prostitutes off the street, if
only temporarily. But it also allows them to search arrested suspects. If
narcotics are found, a night in jail could turn into a longer stay.

"It's been extremely effective," Sgt. Marc Hamlin says.

Bills Target Drug Problem

Beyond arrests for soliciting, illegal drug use among prostitutes has drawn
increasing attention.

State Rep. Frank Farkas, R- St. Petersburg, is proposing state legislation
that would provide drug rehabilitation as an alternative to jail for
prostitutes arrested more than once.

Failure to follow through on drug treatment could lead to mandatory jail
time. A companion bill in the Senate is sponsored by state Sen. Les Miller,
D-Tampa.

Without court-ordered treatment, prostitutes often have little incentive to
rehabilitate themselves, says state Rep. Sandra Murman, R- Tampa,
co-sponsor of the House bill. "This will be a good first step."

Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober says that he likes the idea.

"The intent is not to put prostitutes and johns in jail for five years," he
says. "It's to modify - to make behavioral changes."

Also pending is a proposal to increase prostitution charges to a felony for
third-time convictions, which Ober also supports.

"In many ways right now, we're just spinning our wheels," Ober says.

A program in Hillsborough County is aimed at customers.

The "johns school" offers counseling instead of jail time for men convicted
of offering money for sex. It is run by the nonprofit Tampa Crossroads
agency in conjunction with the state attorney's office.

The eight-week program emphasizes health risks and other hazards of
prostitution.

"The feedback we're getting from the participants is very positive," Tampa
Crossroads Executive Director Dan Kane says.

Along Nebraska Avenue and other known hangouts, merchants are being
encouraged to make their property less attractive to prostitutes.

They're asked to improve lighting and to sign "no trespassing" waivers,
giving police officers more authority to arrest suspected prostitutes.

"If you're going to combat any crime, ... it's going to take more than a
unilateral approach," Tampa police Capt. Hugh Miller says.

Finding Fault With Fight

Not all antiprostitution measures have gone smoothly.

Some judges say Tampa's precursor law carries little legal weight. The
maximum penalty for a first offense is 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

And as a city ordinance, judges are prohibited from offering probation as a
sentencing option, County Judge James Dominguez says.

"It has no teeth," he says.

A city "mapping" probation program appears to be another underachieving tool.

The program calls for a convicted prostitute to be placed on probation and
prohibited from returning to the arrest scene for a period of time.

But prostitutes often refuse this option, preferring a few days or weeks in
jail to being "mapped" off a profitable street corner.

Too, if police suspect someone is violating a mapping order, they must
check the person's probation status before making an arrest. That usually
means tracking down a probation officer.

Dominguez says mapping is more effective with johns, who tend to take their
arrests more seriously. "[They] are just not repeat offenders," he says.

Tampa's "John TV" also has had limited success. The program appears on the
city's government access station and attempts to shame convicted johns by
publicizing their photographs and arrests.

But the program runs from 6:30 to 7 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, hardly
prime time. And many men arrested for soliciting a prostitute plead no
contest or have the charge dropped, avoiding a conviction and a television
appearance.

Police, judges and politicians don't always agree on how to deal with
prostitution. But most concede eradicating street-level prostitution is
unrealistic, if not impossible.

"You just can't arrest a woman for looking like a prostitute," says former
Hillsborough Chief Circuit Judge F. Dennis Alvarez. "You talk about profiling."

Adds Capt. Miller: "Really, probably the best we can hope for is a stalemate."