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| You can’t have escaped the publicity late last
year surrounding the naming and shaming of punters in the Manchester Evening
News. The photographs of these men were displayed for all to see, including
their children, wives, partners and communities. You might say “it
serves them right” and the intention of this publicity is to ‘name
and shame’ these men into ‘never again buying street sex services’.
With the introduction of the new Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001,
under section 71, for the first time, kerb crawling will be a criminal
offence. New police powers allow for kerb crawlers to be taken to a police
station to be photographed, fingerprinted, and DNA samples can also be
taken. Furthermore there will plain clothed police officers armed with
camcorders filming potential punters as they cruise around the city centre
beat looking to buy sexual services, and this footage can be used in court.
So beware readers there will be no room for excuses such as “I was
on my way to pick up my wife from work, and I got lost”. Sorry mister,
we’ve got you filmed approaching a number of known sex workers. You’re
nicked! Naming and shaming has emerged from America, where it is used as a punishment and deterrent for a variety of crimes. These range from people being forced to wear sandwich boards decIaring “I am a thief” or “I am a drunk driver” as part of their sentence, to the naming and shaming of sex workers on police websites, such as http://www.ci.saint paul.mn.us/dept/police/prostitution.html Check it out and you will be amazed. Is this what the future holds for sex workers in the UK? So, what do street based sex workers in Manchester feel about the naming and shaming of punters, and how does it affect their work environment and personal safety? Come on.... Let’s have a heated debate! During discussions with sex workers they gave the reasons why the name & shame policy affects their work. “When we know the police are doing a sweep up of punters; we have to work in the back streets, this means that we are not on familiar ground and we don’t feel safe. Sometimes there is no one else around and its really dark. We can’t see who is in the cars and there’s no one to miss us if we don’t go back” “I have to work longer hours, sometimes I’m stood out here for three times as long as normal. The punters are very edgy and just drive round and round. If there’s only a few punters and lots of working girls it can get competitive, if I didn’t have to graft I wouldn’t be stood out here, but I’ve got to.” “I hate it when I have to get in to cars quickly, I get a horrid sick feeling when I’m in the car and I’ve not even sussed it out, anything could happen and it has” “I know its illegal, but it won’t stop it. I tell punters to ring me on my mobile and I arrange to meet them. I would rather just work on the beat but it’s getting harder” The problem with street prostitution is that it does cause a nuisance when carried out in residential areas and around commercial business areas. People do not want kerb crawlers and sex workers working outside their homes or business, and the police have to respond to these complaints. One sex worker responded to these points: “Why can’t they find us somewhere to work that is away from residents and businesses, that way we would be safer and could just get on with our work? I don’t want the punters to be named and shamed, I want them to come and pay for business. I know that some are violent but a lot of them are no trouble at all. They do it in Amsterdam don’t they?” Finally, here is a letter sent into Beatnews by a woman who works the city centre beat, she explains why she is against the ‘naming & shaming’ of punters. Ban the Name & Shame. Name and shame... I know who should be named and shamed and it’s not the punters. You know, I have worked the beat for several years, name and shame has got to be the worst thing the police have come up with. Call me what you want Mr Dibble...caution me, but please don’t scare off my punters. I go to work to pay the bills and keep my kids happy, nothing shameful about that, eh. I am not out robbing pensioners or dodgy dealing; I am earning money to get by. Recently on more than one occasion I have negotiated business with a punter, he’s handed me my money and then, wham bam the dibble move in. I ask my self will he come back? Probably not. He’s gonna be shitting himself, waiting for the postman to arrive. So what do I do then? Yeah...l move to somewhere darker, dismal, more secluded and a damn sight more risky. I think to myself the punters will come round here, there’s no dibble. God forbid I don’t get mugged, battered or worse. I have to block this out of me head because I need to work to earn my money. As far as I am concerned the name and shame leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It restricts my earnings, I have to work longer hours and I feel unsafe. I have no rights, I am helpless and that mashes my head. Anonymous |
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