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The World of Iniquus - Action Adventure Romance

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Throwing Your Life Down the Toilet. Arresting Johns: Information for Writers

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English: Prostitute waiting for customers. Esp...
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This information was provided by a police officer who works undercover. Her name was withheld to protect her safety. I'll call her Officer Sable

Sable works street level prostitution reversals. That mean she acts as a prostitute to catch the johns.

What is the purpose for arresting the johns?

If the johns go away from an area:
* prostitution goes away
* drug use diminishes
* homicides go way down
* robberies decrease
* diseases decrease

Prostitution brings to the communities:
* a public nuisance
* increased assault charges
*** informants ***

Picking up the johns deters future johns. 
* The john is arrested and transported to jail. 
* Their vehicle is impounded. 
* They need to call someone to get them out and give them a ride -
    this is embarrassing. Sable says that many of the johns she helps
    to catch are religious leaders, in the educational field, and
    husbands/fathers. Their arrest can have ramifications on their job
    and their ability to be involved in their children's activities such 
    as coaching or scouting. 
* One of the deterrents that they use is to put pictures of the
   prosecuted johns out in the public ex. in the newspapers.


When they are on a sting{
* They spend days doing surveillance on the area. 
* There is a sweep of all the known prostitutes to get them out of 
   the area so there is no competition for the johns.
* There is a lot of planning/strategizing. 

The team consists of about 30 people:
* Undercover - a female officer acting in the capacity of a street
   level prostitute. Stays "in character" no matter what. She must
   have the ability to act. She must be adaptable to the situation.
   Before she goes out Sable has to prepare herself mentally for the
   challenge.
   `You have to look the look and walk the talk - be believable.
   ` Dress the part - NO makeup. No jewelry. Nothing flashy.
   ` This is NOT pretty woman - she is UNBATHED, very dirty.
     Sable wont wash her hair for a week before she goes out. And
     once she's dressed she rolls around in the dirt.
   
* Lead Investigator - head coordinator  of the operation, typically
   operates the surveillance equipment in the van. The Lead will
   assign the locations of all the other team members. This is the
   person who can hear the undercover and will signal the others
   when the case is made and tell them which direction the john is
   travelling.


Prostitute talking to a potential customer in ...
 Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
* Surveillance Team -  
   Plain clothes. 
   Plain vehicles
   positioned in close
   proximity. When the
   undercover is done for,
   officers the day, the
   undercover will walk over
   to the car and talk to them,
   as if they were a john then
   get in and drive away and
   this way she maintains her
   "character."
   They periodically drive by the Undercover and maintain visual
   contact for safety.

* Arrest Team - uniformed officers, marked units
   positioned just outside the target location.

It is becoming more rare to find a prostitute on the street. They are often contacted over the Internet.
* this makes children a target
* the cleaner/nicer prostitutes are "escorts"
* "Backpage" - is like Craig's List where your character can find all
    kinds of exotic offerings.
* www.sexguideUSA.info - is a referral site.

Brothels still exist.

The costs - 
50-100 -- oral
60-300 -- intercourse

The work day - 

The peak times:
* Before work
* During lunch
* Right after work
* Sundays after church

The officers usually work from 8am - 6pm
The Undercover usually has about 30 conversations - but not everyone is a case. As a matter of fact, if a person with a mental disability approaches, and she talks to them, then SHE is breaking the law and can be arrested by her own team.

Money DOES NOT  need to exchange hands. An offer needs to be made "________ will be given for the purpose of sexual arousal." It can be anything of value - Once Sable made an arrest after she was offered a chicken wing.

How do they select the target location?
* It's a known location where previous operations have been known

   to occur.
* Crime Stopper request
* The planning starts in the narc office where they know the
   surrounding streets and layouts and can pick a high visibility
   area.
* There must be an area to accommodate the surveillance van.
* As a safety measure the Undercover should not walk outside of
   the visual field of the surveillance van. She can be heard but no
   one can speak to her. She MAY have a camera on her. She has no
   identification and no weapons.
* She gets the johns attention by eye contact and making subtle
   gestures.
* SHE DOES NOT EVER GET INTO THE CAR WITH A JOHN
* She uses the vernacular of the street when she makes
   arrangements with the john.
* The Undercover will tell the john where she has her room. "I'm
   just down the street at Happy Lodge room 32 the door is
   unlocked. I'll meet you there." Then she will give the description
   of the john, his car, and what they agreed to in detail. 
* The arresting officer will pull the john over for a normal traffic
    stop.

After the arresting officer:
* Will complete the arrest sheet including the undercover as
   part of the arrest.
* Complete a support sheet including any "utterances" made by the
   suspect. This is written verbatim. 
* Photograph the john at the rear of the vehicle next to the license
   plate.
* Include all audi/visual evidence.


Prostitute in Tijuana, Mexico.
Prostitute in Tijuana, Mexico. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)





A First Arrest - 
*12 months probation
*10 counseling sessions
* Fines
* Periodic drug tests

I hope this helped with your plotting. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.
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2 comments:

  1. Why is Sex between adults who agree a Crime?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You've got me. I think sex workers should be licensed and pay taxes. But while it is a crime, this is how the sting works.

      Fiona

      Delete