NCJ Number
115221
Date Published
1986
Length
31 pages
Annotation
This document describes a multiagency initiative to reduce prostitution and related offenses in the Finsbury Park section of North London, England, between 1982 and 1985.
Abstract
Prior to 1982, police-community relations had been strained, and police had been ineffective in dealing with community concerns about the prostitution problem. Impetus for the initiative came from a well-organized residents' association, which provided a point of contact between police and the local community and began a door-to-door campaign and a community newspaper. The police established a special vice unit that focused on the surveillance, cautioning, and arrest of prostitutes, pimps, brothel-owners, and customers. Spurred on by pressure from community organizations, local councils in the area implemented a scheme of road barriers and closures to reduce opportunities for cruising by potential customers. This combination of increased law enforcement and environmental design proved to be mutually reinforcing in achieving a long-term solution to the prostitution problem. Through cooperation among the community, police, and local councils, Finsbury Park was transformed from a dangerous red-light district into a relatively tranquil residential neighborhood. Fears that the initiative would merely result in crime displacement have proved to be largely unfounded. 3 tables, 3 figures, map, 7 notes, and a 25-item bibliography.