Questions from the South:
I read city councils are discussing zoning restrictions etc since in Ontario brothels are now legal until Supreme Court decides otherwise. I assume cities can require licensing (like Edmonton etc does for escorts) but zoning can't be unduly restrictive since no declared legal in Ontario by Ont Appeals.
As I understand it, rarely even with Bawdy convictions the penalty is usually a relatively low fine and rarely (if ever) jail imposed (assuming consenting adults). So what happens to everyone with any prior convictions. Are all prior convictions reversed ...back to the 1800's???? If the SCC agrees with other courts or refuses to hear?
On my Phoenix Private Lists (since 1989) getting lots of questions about moving to Canada of escorts especially since were are in the middle of a bust of 39 great folks for Tantra/"Sacred Sexuality" facing felonies and potential prison terms (as in prior Desert Divas case of almost 100).
I am trying to educate on work visa's required and probably not practical for many Phoenix escorts to try and work in Canada. A couple I know do have dual or Canadian citizenship.
Obviously I miss the great times in Canada without all the legal issues.
BTW as another point of potential interest on how you have it so good vs us Southern Yankees
Rose II Sting in Phoenix
Similar to Rose I last September - the hooker fair at Bethany Church
If similar to last year, mostly independents from websites etc. At least one Temple person and a few from the Private Companion List shared their experience last year.
Details per Phoenix PD
Last weekend
76 adults
3 under age "victims"
1 pimp
1 booked child prostitution and pandering
1 booked dangerous drugs.
Diversion program again offered by Catholic Charities to "save you". Help apply for ACCESS food stamp, last year they even had booths at the Church if needed clothes. Some of the escorts were quite well off and declined the help
Phoenix PD brags it saved $29,874.84 for those willing to do 6 months "therapy" with the Catholics instead of going to jail.
Working in partnership through a collaborative community effort, officers from across the Phoenix Police Department and a host of community partners (ASU, the City of Phoenix Prosecutors Office, Bethany Bible Church, Catholic Charities, EMPACT, Community Bridges and HealthCare for the Homeless StreetlightUSA, ALERT) fanned out across the city and actively sought those in greatest need of services and support. The team, under the strong leadership and guidance of Phoenix Police Department Lt. Jim Gallagher and Dr. Dominique Roe-Sepowitz PhD of the Arizona State University School of Social Work, conducted 2 twelve hour operations from a command post hosted by Pastor Brad Pellish and Bethany Bible Church and staffed by 116 volunteers.
If it was targeted at street hookers I would be more supportive, but last year from those that contacted me it was many private independents, outcalls to hotels etc Many declined the offer - given a purse with a Rose in it at the Church entrance.
Arizona Republic 4/26/12 Highlights
It was just before 6 a.m. on a recent weekday morning, and a broad coalition of police and social workers at the Bethany Bible Church activity center buzzed about the imminent arrival of prostitutes.
Dozens of women would move through the center over the next two days, hauled in by police who arrested the prostitution suspects in undercover operations.
Investigators have now come to view prostitutes as human-trafficking victims. While volunteers worked last week with prostitution suspects, undercover investigators patrolled the Internet looking for activity and patrol officers saturated the streets looking for more. Detectives collected as much information as possible from those arrested to try to develop larger criminal cases against the people responsible for putting the suspects to work.
Project Rose is the first step in that holistic approach to addressing prostitution, Gallagher said. It requires support from the highest levels of the agency. "It's unusual for me to go to my boss and say, 'I need 100 guys for 24 hours, and I'm not going to make any arrests,' " Gallagher said. "But because of the work we are doing and our department's commitment to impacting sex trafficking, I get those resources without question. ...
"I think the perspective of 'the world's oldest profession' and 'two consenting adults' is changing." Changing that perspective also requires prosecutors to change, said Kent McCarthy, a bureau chief in the Phoenix Prosecutor's Office. McCarthy estimated he has put hundreds of prostitutes behind bars during his career, but last week, he sat at a table trying to help prostitutes stay out of jail.
The city has another prostitution-diversion program that requires suspects to plead guilty, with a promise to drop the charges if the diversion is successfully completed. Project Rose offers the same diversion but puts women in touch with counselors and social-service providers within hours of their arrests. That avoids the weeks or months it can traditionally take.
If the candidates fail to complete either program they are charged as if diversion were never offered and face jail time ranging from 15 to 180 days, depending on how many times they've been caught.
The pre-conviction diversion saves taxpayers the costs of jail and court time -- Phoenix police estimate last week's program saved the department $30,000 in booking costs alone -- and closes that crucial window between a suspect's arrest and the opportunity for rehabilitation.
After prosecutors explained the diversion plan last week, suspects met with counselors from the Catholic Charities Dignity program, which relies on women who've left prostitution to counsel others on what it takes to break free of "the life."
Read more:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarep...rostitution-human-approach.html#ixzz1t8zQR56Q
