Pubdate: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 Source: Bradenton Herald (FL) Copyright: 2006 Bradenton Herald Contact: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/58 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/women.htm (Women) 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. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman