TRAIL OF VICTIMS

Tamiami Prostitution Clean-Up Overdue

The thing that apologists invariably say about prostitution is that
it is a "victimless" crime. That rationalization usually comes amid
efforts to legalize the "oldest profession," which advocates like to
euphemize as the "sex trade" and its practitioners as "sex workers."

Prostitution is anything but victimless. Start with the women - and
it's a predominantly female "profession" - themselves. Many begin as
runaways who are befriended by men who get them hooked on drugs and
then force them to sell their bodies to pay for their habits. Others
are women who start with recreational drug use, then graduate to
becoming addicts and selling themselves to support their habits.

But the victimization doesn't stop there. Prostitution brings with it
drug activity, street crime and break-ins. The unsavory element among
its clientele chase away customers of legitimate businesses in
prostitutes' haunts. The law-abiding people whose neighborhoods they
ply live in fear of the drivers cruising through, and their property
values decline. They fear for the safety of their children playing in
their yards. Day care center workers who walk outside on break are
propositioned.

And that doesn't even touch on the health issues related to
prostitution: Sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, that can
be passed from customer to prostitute and then to the spouses and
girl friends of customers without their knowledge. These are truly
innocent victims.

Thus we cheer the group of citizens from Manatee and Sarasota
counties trying to rid the Tamiami Trail of prostitution. The
Citizens Advisory Taskforce on Prostitution has set a goal of raising
the penalties for prostitution in an effort to keep repeat offenders
from returning to the street almost before the ink on their arrest
forms is dry. They correctly identify the problem that law
enforcement has long complained of: the maximum penalty for a
second-degree misdemeanor of prostitution is 60 days in jail or six
months of probation. As Sarasota Police Lt. Steve Breakstone noted
with sarcasm, "It (prostitution) is right up there with parking
tickets and running stop signs."

The task force wants to have it changed to a first-degree misdemeanor
which would require a jail sentence followed by a full year of
probation. Second offense would earn up to a year in jail if caught
working within 1,00 feet of a school, park, day care or church, and
repeat offenders could go to prison for five years.

Task force members say it takes a long lockup to break the vicious
cycle of arrest, probation and return to work. Once women have a
chance to "detox" from the streets and get professional help, they
can begin to turn their lives around. With the revolving-door justice
that now prevails, they never are in a program long enough to become
rehabilitated.

We hope the local legislative delegation and criminal justice
officials will get behind state Rep. Donna Clarke's bill to toughen
the penalties for prostitution. The bill was defeated in the House in
the last session because members thought its penalties were too harsh
for a "victimless" crime. Clarke should have some convincing
witnesses next session from the Tamiami Trail task force who can
testify to the victimization of their neighborhood for decades.

Until prostitution is cleaned up, the revival of the Trail envisioned
in a U.S. 41 corridor master plan can't get underway. This road, home
to some of the area's most prized cultural institutions, can't reach
its potential with prostitutes plying their illicit trade on its
sidewalks and empty lots.