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Prostitution in Canada Forum
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Wendy
 Nov 10, 07 - 7:46 PM |
Police to renew effort to tow johns' cars
Trish Audette, edmontonjournal.com EDMONTON — Police Chief Mike Boyd announced this afternoon that his officers will focus more on targeting the men who buy sex on the city's streets. "The Edmonton Police Service is going to ramp up our activity," he said. "We're going to be out there, seizing cars ... We're going to be measuring these activities and the results daily and weekly." View Larger Image Police Chief Mike Boyd announces the launch of the "You Cruise, You Lose" program one year after the province passed legislation allowing police to tow johns' cars. Here Chief Boyd stands in front of a vehicle hooked up to a tow truck while speaking at the launch. Photograph by : Ed Kaiser / Edmonton Journal Email to a friend Printer friendly AAAAFont: Boyd was joined by Solicitor General Fred Lindsay in announcing the launch of the You Cruise, You Lose campaign this afternoon. The campaign launch came a year after the province passed legislation allowing police to tow people's cars when they are caught buying sex. Edmonton officers seized 50 vehicles in the last year — including a $100,000 Mercedes Benz. But officers did not pursue the program with the same vigour as Calgary police, who started seizing cars within weeks of the province announcing the new law. Altogether, Calgary police seized 64 vehicles in the last year, and police across the province have taken 114 vehicles from johns. The success of john school, a program run by the Prostitution Action and Awareness Foundation of Edmonton in partnership with the police, gave Edmonton's vice unit pause when the new legislation came in. Only about two per cent of the men who are sent to john school are ever caught trying to buy sex again. The school is a day of classes that puts the men in contact with police officers, former prostitutes, and mothers of young women who died as a result of their involvement in the sex trade. Calgary does not have a similar program, but Edmonton police wanted to see the john school program introduced as an alternative court measure. "We believe in the john school program," Boyd said, adding it is now built into the system. "It's not that we're looking to throw everyone in jail. It's that we want to stop the problem." Now, johns will lose their vehicles and have to pay to get them back. They will be arrested, and depending on their record, they will have the option of paying $500 to go to john school. Integrating the classes into the court system adds about six weeks between the time of arrest and the day the johns meet each other and learn about the effect their activities have on the community. "We're still waiting to see how this whole process will work," said Kathy King, acting executive director of the prostitution awareness foundation. "My preference would be that people change their behaviour because of a consciousness shift, not because of fear. But we'll take what we can get." Residents in the area of 118th Avenue, Edmonton's most popular stroll for sex trade workers and johns, have long wondered why city police haven't followed the standard set by Calgary, said Alberta Avenue community league president Trish Filevich. "Residents who live here want to see those cars towed. That is a deterrent," she said. "I don't think there's any greater deterrent than having a car towed, because that means someone's family knows what happened." Filevich said people who live in her community are sick of finding used condoms on their streets and alleyways everyday. "It's time that this ends in our neighbourhood." Boyd said the seizure of johns' vehicles will not necessarily be tied to vice unit stings that use undercover police officers to target johns and street prostitutes. Since 1988, 16 Edmonton-area women who were involved in the sex trade have been found dead just outside the city. The deaths have prompted city police and RCMP to investigate whether one or more serial killers may be responsible. taudette@thejournal.canwest.com |
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