NCJ Number
166881
Date Published
1995
Length
54 pages
Annotation
Vice squads in England and Wales were surveyed regarding their objectives, their role in addressing prostitution, and interagency cooperation related to this issue.
Abstract
Responses came from 23 of the 29 vice squads serving areas in which prostitution was a significant problem. The research also gathered information from the academic literature, official reports, and newspaper reports. It used quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze the data. Results revealed that most of the vice squads were established in the 1970's as a result of local public pressure. Most units have 4-10 police officers. They spend the majority of their time policing street prostitution and curb crawling. They are also engaged in regulating off-street prostitution, pornography, drug law offenses, robbery, and licensing and gambling offenses. The most common strategy for regulating street prostitution is through the arrest of women for soliciting. Arrest rates for soliciting were the most widely used performance measured, followed by counts of the number of women working in the area. Findings indicated that relatively few female prostitutes are active in each vice area and that the number of street prostitutes has remained stable or declined in most areas. Vice squad officers recommended a comprehensive review of current legislation regulating prostitution to allow vice squads to respond more effectively with the problems associated with prostitution. Tables and 20 references