Dec. 17, 2006; New York City– "Four women have been murdered by a serial killer who preys on street workers in Atlantic City, NJ. The Prostitutes of New York (PONY) calls upon the FBI and police not to repeat the mistakes of other cities. We can't afford to let the body count rise. The actions of investigators and police will determine how many women die and if the killer is brought to justice."
"Police must immediately institute a moratorium on arresting prostitutes. When there is big news about prostitution, authorities often feel pressure to 'do more.' This usually means arresting more prostitutes. Last week, a police spokesperson said that Atlantic City cops made more than 1000 prostitution arrests this year and did not indicate any plan to change tactics."
"As long as prostitutes view police as an enemy to be avoided, they will not come forward with information. A moratorium sends the message that prostitutes' lives are valued and that police are serious about stopping the murders."
"At a minimum, police must not increase arrests. Stepped up enforcement creates dangerous new problems. When more indoor prostitutes are arrested, workers shift to outdoor work, creating more potential targets for the killer. When a particular "track" or "stroll" sees more arrests, prostitutes move across town. Migrating workers are hard for law enforcement to monitor and place prostitutes into unfamiliar territory, making their situation more perilous. These sorts of problems compounded the difficulties that Washington police faced with the Green Bay Killer."
"Atlantic City investigators must listen to prostitutes. Too often, stereotypes about prostitutes cause police to discount valuable information. Vancouver is a sad example of this. For two decades, police ignored reports of an active serial killer, assuming that over forty missing women were simply "transients." Despite alarming reports from prostitutes about Robert Pickton's farm, it was years before the property was searched and the killer arrested. Ignoring leads is negligent at best; imagine the outcry if the women were nurses instead of prostitutes."
"Police must earn the trust of local prostitutes. Trust is hard to build, and unfortunately, one bad cop can jeopardize community-police relations. Sexual harassment, violent incidents, and sexual/economic exploitation of sex workers by police must be severely punished. To avoid problems, the police department could require sensitivity training."
What is the Intl. Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers? On December 17, 1975, 150 French prostitutes occupied a church in Lyons, protesting, among other things, the unsolved murders of a number of local prostitutes. Four years ago today, sex workers in California inaugurated December 17 as the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, largely in response to the Green River Killer, who murdered at least 48 prostitutes in Washington state.
What is PONY? Prostitutes of New York (PONY) is a New York City-based support and advocacy group for all people in the sex industry. PONY advocates the decriminalization of prostitution.
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