ADDICT HOOKERS NAILED

Police Put Deep Freeze On 25 Prostitutes In Downtown Oshawa, Many Of
Them Drug Users

Twenty five women were arrested in a four-day prostitution sweep of
downtown Oshawa.

Durham police say most of the women are addicted to drugs and are
plying the trade to pay for their habit.

Project Minnesota was launched Tuesday in response to community
complaints about prostitution in the downtown core, Community
Response Sgt. Peter Keegan said.

"The reasoning behind why they're doing this is often fuelled by drug
use," primarily crack cocaine, he said. Keegan said one woman was
arrested twice in one night.

He said police impose conditions on the women, prohibiting them from
returning to the area where they were arrested.

'We Do What We Can'

Police filed 16 prostitution charges, five drug offences and 25
breaches of court orders, mostly dealing with ignoring instructions
to stay out of specific areas.

"We try to keep them out of the downtown, but it's sometimes not
easy," Keegan said. "When you see the amount of breaches, it's a
tough one to enforce. We're fighting the oldest profession in the
world, so to speak. We do what we can to address the community
complaints."

Keegan said the trade drives people away from the core.

"People just don't want to be confronted with this when they come to
the downtown core," he said. "There's been the odd occasion when a
young lady or a family have been approached by a would-be john,
thinking they were in prostitution, and that's unacceptable for us."

Oshawa Mayor John Gray said the city isn't immune to the drug
problem.

"Often the prostitutes are drug addicts," he said. "The lifestyle is
one not that is conducive to a long life.

"Obviously, you can't have prostitutes unless you have the patrons
who want to pay for the services."

Neighbourhood Watch

Low-income neighbourhoods have been the centre for drug trafficking
and prostitution, he said.

And families who live in the same areas are exposed to the trade. A
neighbourhood association has popped up and added an extra set of
eyes.

"When you get people that are concerned about their neighbourhood and
want to effect change and they do it in a positive, non-vigilante
type of way, something as simple as standing on the sidewalk and
keeping an eye on the situation, you're not taking justice into your
hands, but you're putting extra eyes on the streets because nobody
wants to be seen with these types of things," Gray said.

"The long-term, lasting solution is total community vigilance," Ward
5 and 6 Councillor Louise Parkes said. "Part of this is everything
from cameras and vigilance, and it's also having a positive impact
throughout the downtown so these folks are, quite frankly, not
comfortable."