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Councilors want to bolster fight against prostitution through more impoundment of pimps' and johns' cars
By adamg on Wed, 03/30/2016 - 1:44pm
City councilors want police to step up enforcement against prostitution and say they can pay for it through the fines collected on cars impounded during prostitution-related arrests.
A council committee will study a proposal by Councilors Ayanna Pressley (at large) and Frank Baker (Dorchester) to funnel the fines into a revolving fund to pay both for programs to help prostitutes get out of the trade and to pay for more enforcement.
"Johns, pimps, we're coming for you!" Pressley said.
Several years ago, the city adopted an ordinance calling for car impoundment and $350 fines to get the cars back on the theory that guys who have to slink home to their suburban manse and explain to their families what happened to their car would be less likely to return to places such as Dorchester Avenue.
City Councilor Michael Flaherty (at large) said the theory still holds, that men from places such as "Lexington and Westwood and Hingham" form a major part of the customer base for Boston pimps and their prostitutes.
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Comments
Yes please
Sick and tired of hoes and used condoms all over Dot Ave between Savin Hill and Fields Corner.
Not just on the Avenue, but on the side streets too
Some of them like to take it to the side streets, especially around midnight to 4 am. I've been on the phone to BPD several times over the years. In addition to the used condoms and used kleenex, they leave cigarette butts , small empty plastic bags with white powdery residue, empty nip bottles and in one case a used needle.
It's brazen and its 24/7. I was walking from the parking lot to Bank of America in Fields Corner a couple of years ago around noon, and a young drugged out woman asked me if I wanted a "date"
Some places shame the johns with pictures and arrest records in the local papers. I like that idea.
Names in the papers
I remember an old story that I think was in Brockton where they were putting names in the newspaper when men were arrested for solicitation. One of the guys committed suicide as a result and the same newspaper had a story that withheld his name because of a policy to protect the privacy of the family in cases of suicide.
Oh the horror!
Kleenex! Cigarette butts! And.....NIP BOTTLES!
FYI, all the things you mentioned are typically found on city streets - welcome to Boston.
And needles
And used condoms. I don't know about you, but I don't want to see that crap on my streets.
Welcome to Boston to you too JP Native
Nice try JPNative, but I was born here and I still live here after many years. Your trolling conveniently didn't mention the main subject of my post which was used condoms (found together with the other stuff).
And no , used condoms found together with kleenex , booze remnants, and drug remnants is not typical city trash in most neighborhoods. Even if it was, it's unacceptable, especially when a lot of kids live in my neighborhood. It's a real problem, and its about time the City Council tried new solutions. I usually contact the police not my councillor but it's good to see Frank Baker is working on this proposal to punish the johns.
As the first poster mentioned, it is a real, and unacceptable problem in and around Dot Ave from Savin Hill to Fields Corner, not an amusing joke for your entertainment.
What?
If you read my post again, you'll see that I said "everything you mentioned", FYI.
I don't know where you live, but the type of trash you mention is common and not exclusive to just Fields Corner. Take a walk through some parks in "good" neighborhoods and you'll find exactly the same thing. Have you ever walked through Fallon Field on Saturday morning? Better yet, have you ever walked through the tunnel connecting Belgrade and Fallon on a Saturday morning? Healy Field? Billings? I almost touched a used condom when I was pumping my tires at Hess on Centre St.
Like you, I was born and raised here and I see those things all the time.
Sorry Marty
Looks like after the GE deal, they're coming for your ride...
i dont think its right
that the government exerts such control over a woman's body
or a man's
just more evidence of the patriarchy, if we ever needed more.
The city government is now
The city government is now butting in on the business of governments in other states and in some cases countries.
Do you really think it cares about butting in on private business of individuals?
Couldn't. Agree. More.
Couldn't. Agree. More.
I'm the polar opposite of a SJW or someone who complains about "patriarchy" or "privilege"... but laws against prostitution do nothing but: (1) punish women who are already in a terrible spot in life, and (2) create a black market for sex, resulting in trafficking and enslavement, usually of minors.
This is behind the times
Instead of all this showboating, shouldn't prostitution just be legalized? Like the legalization of marijuana, it is the way of the future.
coz
the purchase of marjuana and the purchase of human beings are the same thing.
Lexington, Westwood, and Hingham?
Sorry, I don't partake of the action because of my life of spousal fidelity, but based upon my observations while out with friends at certain bars in Hingham, you don't need to pay.
Michael Flaherty - You are too smart to make a dumb statement like this. Most Lex / WWood / Hingham guys are too terrified to even get off the Expressway during the day, let alone cruise BHA or Dot Ave after dark.
He may have looked at the arrest records
I lived on the edge of a neighborhood in DC that had a lot of streetwalkers at that time and the majority of cars I'd see cruising for a "date" had either VA or MD tags so I don't think that he's that far off in either case.
Does this $350 fine only
Does this $350 fine only apply after a conviction by a jury? Or is the city abusing its power of car-related "administrative fees" to impose extrajudicial fines?
Why didn't Flaherty mention Plymouth men?
I guess Flaherty didn't want to further irritate his Plymouth neighbors.
Are street walking prostitutes really a thing anymore?
I don't cruise Dot Ave at night, but is this really a big issue? I would think most girls have moved to back page to do business. And, how many of those girls are really being pimped out vs. working independently?
What if the girl actually enjoys what she's doing? What do they do with the funds going to get her out of the life? What exactly does more enforcement mean? Is this what we really want cops spending their time doing?
I swear, City Councillors are so useless at this point, they're just looking for busy work.
edit: I do like that Ayanna Pressley brought out her inner Rambo 2 "Murdoch, I'm coming for you!"
So true
I mean prostitution in my eyes is absolutely disgusting/degrading to woman, but as long as the prostitute isn't a human slave/victim of human trafficking then I don't see why it's such a problem.
Exactly.
Go after those who believe are trafficking children.
Anything agreed upon between two consenting adults is their business.
Found the john
And on a more serious note, are you really that naive? Are you forgetting about the pimps?
Naive about what, exactly?
n/t
Either naive or willfully ignorant
Read the post below from an anon RN about the real deal with Dot Ave prostitutes. It's not what you think it is or pretend to think it is. And thank you to Pressley and Baker , who both live on or near Dot Ave for addressing this.
Naive enough
To think those are simply enterprising gals trying to make an extra buck, and conveniently forgetting about the pimps, drug dealing and violence that goes along with it. You might not care once you drive back to JP, but some of us actually live in the area.
I don't think all
I don't think all prostitutes are enterprising gals trying to make a buck, I think a lot are.
I also don't think focusing on two bit pimps who turn out crack hoes and junkies to scumbags for a $10 blow job is the best way to help women in this city.
Again, JP
I invite you again to read the post below by the anon-RN. Of course we don't know if he/she is really an RN or whether you really are a JP native but the post is thoughtful and contradicts your opinion. The issue is a serious one and a very legitimate issue for the Council and the BPD to address. The pimps and johns are contributing to violent crimes committed against vulnerable women.
http://www.universalhub.com/2016/councilors-want-bolster-fight-against-p...
Here is an important detail from that post
nah
It's a thing.. at least here in Chelsea.
I often go to work very early in the morning (like before 5am) for maintenance work, so I have to walk down to Broadway.
Every morning there's two girls.. very heroin chick looking girls standing on the corner near my house.They consistently ask if I'm looking for some fun or a 'date' (I wouldn't touch either one of them with my worst enemy's d*ck)
Funny story, when I first moved here eons ago.. I ran out of smokes (when I smoked cigs) and of course the only place open after 11pm near me is in East Boston (the Walgreens). So I walk all the way from Chelsea to the Walgreens in Eastie. On my way back, I noticed in the distance there's 3 girls and one guy walking behind me.
Well they catch up, and the guy.. I'm assuming their pimp.. asks shouts to me.. "Hey Bro", so being dumb, I walk over and say hi. He then asks me he'd let me pick one of his girls for 50 bucks for some "oral action" (as he put it)
My reply: Well dude, I'd be more into what YOU had to offer between your legs than any of your "girls". (because I'm a gay guy)
He had no idea what to say after that........ the look on his face was priceless. He was taken back.
You were lucky
That part of eastie is infested by MS-13 thugs (who happen to be heavily involved in human trafficking,) you definitely wouldn't be posting here if the pimp happened to be one of those low-lifes.
Yes, but they are the closest to rock bottom
To be clear, when I say rock bottom I mean the term in the sense of addiction not as a crass ranking of women.
To give an example, remember Baby Doe's mom?
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/09/18/bella-bond-baby-doe-suspects-crimi...
almost agree totally
but you lost me where you said Councilors are looking for any type of work to do.
Yes JPNative, there are still streetwalkers on Dot Ave
And not just at night. Some of them work in morning rush hour too. And I've seen them in the afternoon. Call BPD C11 and speak to Officer Golden in community relations if you want some details. They still have pimps. They are drug addicts. They are often moved around from city to city, especially when the cops periodically crack down. And new ones show up all the time.
And when they take it off the avenue and into the neighborhoods, yes it is a problem, and yes I do want the cops spending time on it. If you started seeing used condoms in front of your house on the sidewalk used by lots of kids walking to school, I suspect you would change your tune.
Improper incentive
I don't know if this is a legal challenge or just a moral one, but I thought this type of financial arrangement wasn't allowed.
In other words, I've heard of a college town where they tried to impose heavy fines for disturbing the peace (loud parties), with the fines going to pay for the police overtime needed to keep the town quiet enough for the locals.
So the idea was that the extra fines would pay the police overtime.
I then thought a court quashed the idea, (or maybe someone else quashed it. Or maybe I'm mistaken). The logic for quashing it is that it's a bad incentive for a police department. All of a sudden, they're incented to cite every group of 3 kids loudly giggling at a funny TV show and call it a loud party.... because it's funding their OT budget. Same logic goes with small-town speed traps- you don't want to incent police to enforce 1mph over the speed limit...
Can anyone with any legal knowledge comment?
Well
Loud giggling isn't necessarily a loud party, but hiring a hooker is definitely hiring a hooker. And if cops have more incentive to arrest those losers, more power to them.
Unfortunately you are
Unfortunately you are incorrect. Police routinely steal possessions and even cash without the protections of due process. Thankfully it is done less in Mass than it is in the south.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/instituteforjustice/2014/03/12/cops-use-traf...
A few observations about the women on Dot Ave
I am an RN who has worked with several of the women who work the stretch of Dot Ave from Fields Corner to Savin Hill over the past few years and I have witnessed numerous interactions between men in cars and the women. A few observations...
1. I am not aware of any prostitute on Dot Ave. who is NOT addicted to heroin or crack and essentially enslaved by a dealer/pimp who makes them prostitute in order to stave off withdrawal.
2. In the 6am-10am time frame I have seen countless men in vans and small trucks (the type that are used by plumbers, electricians, contractors, etc use) stop and engage these women. Based on the business information on the sides of these vans it appears that they are from Dorchester/Southie and surrounding communities.
3. As one women told me after a violent assault "they know that we can't go to the police because we all have open warrants and charges from the drugs." The men who engage with these women, both pimps and johns, are predators.
4. The pain that I have observed with these women is indescribable and horrifying. They need legal protection and treatment away from Boston where they might have a chance at recovery and building a new life.
Thank you Frank and Ayana!
Thank you anon RN
Thanks for telling the true story of these women. It's not a victimless crime and they are not selling their bodies because they want to or because they like the work.
"Johns, pimps, we're coming
"Johns, pimps, we're coming for you!" Pressley said.
Phrasing!!