Prostitution harms on two fronts

by Dennis Geisinger
published November 03, 08

Prostitution in the 3rd Precinct—the large city police patrol sector that covers all of the Central Neighborhoods including Powderhorn, Phillips, Bancroft, Bryant, Corcoran and Standish—was the subject of the most recent 3rd Precinct Advisory Council (3-PAC) meeting, held Oct. 20.

With some estimates claiming there are at least 7,000 to 9,000 prostitutes working in the Twin Cities, the sex trade is a livability crime for local residents as well as an avenue of exploitation for already disadvantaged women. Local efforts to confront the issue have found it necessary to address both sides of the problem.

Minneapolis Police Crime Prevention Specialist Karen Notsch encouraged neighborhood residents to report suspected prostitution on their block by using 911. The Minneapolis Police Department also offers crime prevention volunteers an opportunity to access Minnesota motor vehicle registration information through a special partnership with the state. This allows residents, block clubs and neighborhood groups authorized by MPD to find out who owns a suspicious car visiting your block. Then, volunteers can send a warning letter to the owner of that car telling them that the area is under constant surveillance by neighbors and the police for illegal activity.

The “Dear John” letter program lets block club members remain safely anonymous. The letters, signed “The 5XXX Clinton Avenue Block Club,” for example, are sent in 3rd Precinct envelopes that Community Crime Prevention/Safety for Everyone offices will provide. The letters also tell the vehicle owner to contact the MPD crime prevention specialist if there are any questions.

An advantage of participating in this partnership is that there is no charge for accessing the state registration program. Ordinary users have to pay a fee of several dollars every time they access the information.

Groups using this program have reported a nearly 50 percent drop in suspicious traffic when the letters start going out. Assistant City Attorney Paula Kruchowski said that impact statements sent to her office about chronic offenders in neighborhoods allow the city to file geographic trespass charges against individuals and that well-documented descriptions of their behavior has led to an increase in prosecution rates.

If your block is interested in participating in this program, contact CPS Sue Roethele, 612-673-2839, at the 3rd Precinct. CPS Notsch noted that citizens confronting or verbally abusing suspected prostitutes or their johns accomplish nothing and are a safety risk.

The increased visibility of prostitution and drug dealing on the street and at properties was listed as a top concern expressed by community members in the Corcoran neighborhood as part of its 2008 Neighborhood Policing Plan. Efforts made under the 2007 Policing Plan—targeting addresses identified with illegal drug and prostitution activity, as well as intersections where illegal street activity has been identified—have led to a 10 percent reduction in reported illegal drug and prostitution incidents compared to 2006.

In 2007, State Senator Patricia Torres-Ray (DFL-Minneapolis) attended a Corcoran Neighborhood Organization meeting to discuss work related to the prostitution problem on and around Lake Street. She reported on efforts made to connect the women involved in prostitution with services from Hennepin County and SPECTRUM, a mental health recovery program.

Torres-Ray’s policy efforts have since focused on providing resources to get women in prostitution access to services to help them transition to other alternatives. Working with State Senator Linda Bergen (DFL-Minneapolis), two bills were put forward during last year’s legislative session, one to create Minneapolis and St. Paul drug-free and prostitution-free zone pilot projects and another to fund prostitution assessment and treatment. Neither made it out of committee, much to the chagrin of local activists who work with women victimized by the business of prostitution.

“Smoke screens are not enough to eliminate the problem, especially when they continue cutting what little funding was previously provided to help those most vulnerable,” said Mary Whitney of Women Planting Seeds, a local organization dedicated to helping women and men leaving federal prisons and state correctional facilities to connect back to the community and their children.
Whitney was nominated for a 2008 Jonathan Farmer Iluq Award, presented annually to an individual direct service worker who best exemplifies energy, enthusiasm, and creativity in serving individuals and families who are homeless.