The police response to sex workers is driven by community complaints, says Sergeant Sean Auld of the Integrated Vice Squad. But he emphasizes that if a sex worker is attacked, she can expect the full protection of the law – regardless of the circumstances.
“We try and deal proactively and reactively with prostitution complaints,” he says. “Typically what happens is that persons in Halifax or Dartmouth will contact the police and say, ‘There’s a girl working the corner and I’d like her not to do that.’”
Police will then investigate and, if the woman (or man) is found to be soliciting for prostitution, make an arrest on that offence. Police also actively pursue the workers.
“Every week, we put out members of our squad in an undercover capacity to try and engage in communication or have the girls engage in communication with us for the purposes of prostitution. That communication has to occur in a public place.”
While police are aware that escort agencies provide similar services, they focus resources on the street trade – because the non-street trade is largely invisible.
“We spend more time on street-level prostitution because that is where the complaints come from,” Auld explains.
But he is quick to assure sex workers that their work will have no bearing on how police investigate crimes against them.
“We treat all of the prostitutes with a great deal of respect. Yes, they’re breaking the law, yes we enforce those statutes that we’re obligated to – and that we should for community concerns - but at the end of the day, we treat everyone with respect. I would hope that if they felt we could assist them, they would come to us. From a Vice perspective, the fact that that occurred during a crime would have no bearing on our treatment of her as a legit victim of a sexual assault.”
Auld says a key purpose of the Prostitution Task Force – part of the Integrated Vice Squad – is to help women who want to leave sex work. To this end, they will request that the court order drug treatment or counselling to a person convicted of solicitation.
“No one grows up wanting to be a prostitute. These girls are victims of many things. No one that I know is there because they want to do it.”
To those who question whether this work is a good use of police resources, Auld says:
“Perhaps they don’t have a prostitute in front of their home. It’s the old story of if the problem is in your front yard, it’s going to be significant to you.”