Last week, there was a lot of attention paid to a “compassionate approach” to prostitution by Camden police. I think there’s a lot to like here, and like to see police treating folks on the street as people first. That said, I know there are some big controversies in the sex-worker advocacy world, so I shared the with one of my favorite “follows” on twitter, Laura Agustin. Here’s an excerpt from the article, followed by her thoughts:
After a prostitution bust, Camden police give women a choice: Go to jail or work with Antinore to get into detox to break their heroin or crack addiction.
Antinore says she approaches the women not as problems to be solved but as human beings.
“It doesn’t matter if they haven’t showered. It doesn’t matter the condition — what they look like. We believe that’s the part that has the ability to profoundly affect someone’s heart,” she said.
Police Chief Scott Thomson says partnerships with groups like She Has a Name give women arrested for prostitution the opportunity to get help and avoid prosecution.
“About 20 percent of the girls will accept this offer,” he said.
He says many of the women are trying to earn money as prostitutes to support their drug habits. So helping them get clean can be a more effective method of keeping them off the street than just arresting them.
This more compassionate approach for the women is in sharp contrast to law enforcement’s treatment of the men who are caught seeking their services. Thomson says his officers use everything they can to send a strong message to the johns, including seizing their vehicles. And they routinely use female police posing as prostitutes to catch would-be customers.
"While Camden arrests johns it offers prostitutes a way out" Behold the start of the 'way out' https://t.co/rk1ZsQB9dd pic.twitter.com/ZfmK9Kx8Zm
— Laura Agustín (@LauraAgustin) September 27, 2014
Approach to street #sexworkers called compassionate in comparison w "treatment of the men who are caught seeking their services". Gee thanks
— Laura Agustín (@LauraAgustin) September 27, 2014
I followed up and asked what policing strategies she could point me to that did a better job, given the complexity of the issue. Here was her response:
@SteveDanley given the legal framework + anti-trafficking zeitgeist no better policing is possible except leaving everyone in peace
— Laura Agustín (@LauraAgustin) October 2, 2014
A special thanks to Laura for giving some attention to Camden on this, and for sharing her thoughts with us.
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