Pubdate: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 Source: Frederick News Post (MD) Copyright: 2001 Great Southern Printing and Manufacturing Company Contact: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/contact/contactfinalnew.cfm?contact=letters Website: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/814 Author: Pat Skidmore STOP POSING AS PROSTITUTES AND DRUG DEALERS I am writing because I am tired of police entrapping our citizens by posing as prostitutes or drug dealers ("Carroll Manor principal faces prostitution charge," July 23). Prostitution and using drugs are almost always "victimless" crimes to others. I, for one, do not believe it to be a crime for two consenting adults, of whatever gender, to have sex, or for a person to use any substance, as long as no one else is endangered. I'm beginning to believe that the police like this kind of work. Posing as prostitutes and drug dealers is a lot safer for them than going after really dangerous criminals. After all, prostitutes usually don't shoot people, and adult book-stores are usually not violent places. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them actually enjoyed this kind of work. It even gets their names in the paper. I grew up believing that the police were my friends and protectors. I no longer believe this, and I have lost a lot of respect for what they do. As long as the police get kudos for this kind of work, and we criminalize victimless activities, calling them crimes, we will continue to lose good and hard-working citizens who may not be perfect, like the police. And these gotcha tactics won't stop until we decriminalize these victimless crimes, seeing them as perhaps poor choices, and even personal tragedies, instead of as criminal offenses. PAT SKIDMORE New Market - --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe