Anti-Prostitution Policing in Practice
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 10:07 AM

What should you do if you see a woman waving her arms on a street corner at 8AM? Try to offer assistance, perhaps? This is not recommended in the South Side of Chicago, not far from Vice Squad's own base. When a married couple, waiting for their daughter to return with a hot chocolate, found themselves in this situation, they soon realized that the woman was not in peril, but rather, was (seemingly) selling some physical companionship. They found the situation amusing. But only for a brief moment, until police officers arrested the male driver for soliciting their undercover officer. It was eight hours before he was released, while his wife and daughter were abandoned at the corner because the police impounded their car -- aren't civil asset forfeiture rules special? The charge against the driver was dropped, but the car has not been returned: "The city wants more than $4,700 in towing and storage fees if he wants the car back." Read all about this sterling piece of anti-vice police work here.

Labels: asset forfeiture, Chicago, policing, Prohibition, prostitution