NCJ Number
135829
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 32 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1992) Pages: 1-17
Date Published
1992
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This analysis of efforts to control street prostitution in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and Finsbury Park in London, England concludes that the best solution for Canada would be to specify where prostitutes are permitted to work rather than to continue the current punitive approach that merely displaces crime and produces other problems.
Abstract
The attempts to suppress street prostitution in Vancouver have included the extensive enforcement of a new law making it an offense to "communicate" in a public place for the purpose of buying or selling sexual services. Despite these efforts, street prostitution persists. In contrast, Roger Matthews has claimed that during the early 1980's, a multi-agency approach successfully cleared London's Finsbury Park of prostitution without displacing it to other areas. Matthews uses this finding to conclude that prostitution is much more opportunistic than has often been supposed. However, Matthews's methodology is questionable, because his research lacks information about whether Finsbury Park women moved to off-street locations or to distant locations. Neither Matthews nor Canadian legislators have recommended the criminalization of either the sale or purchase of sexual services, however. Thus, specifying where prostitution can occur is the most appropriate approach for Canada. Figure, maps, footnotes, and 36 references