Police target prostitutes near Pickton trial

Police target prostitutes near Pickton trial
Three-day undercover operation results in arrests of six men, three women on New Westminster’s 12th Street

ROBERT MATAS
Globe and Mail
July 16, 2007

NEW WESTMINSTER — The New Westminster Police Service has conducted a sting operation to arrest prostitutes and their customers a few blocks from the courthouse holding the trial of Robert Pickton.

A three-day undercover operation on 12th Street in New Westminster led to arrests that were announced on the same day a police officer at Mr. Pickton’s trial testified about an incident on the so-called stroll on 12th Street eight years ago.

RCMP Corporal Jennifer Hyland told court she had stopped Mr. Pickton, who is on trial for the murders of six drug-addicted street prostitutes, for a sobriety test after he was spotted driving slower than other traffic and weaving from side to side on 12th Street.

Mr. Pickton was given a sobriety test, which he passed, and was allowed to go on his way, she testified last week.

Meanwhile, outside the courthouse, New Westminster police arrested six men and three women the police described as sex-trade workers. They were charged with solicitation for the purpose of prostitution. The Criminal Code prohibits solicitation, but does not outlaw prostitution.

“The issue here is solicitation,” Detective Constable Terry Wilson of the New Westminster Police Service said in an interview. The municipality is trying to send a message to those looking for prostitutes on its streets, he said.

“We want to get the message out that these people are not welcome here, if that is what they are coming here for,” Det. Constable Wilson said.

The New Westminster sting operation was set up following complaints from business owners along the street, he said. The three-day project involved undercover police officers posing as prostitutes and customers, referred to as “johns.”

Those arrested were charged and released pending a court date.

Before being sent on their way, they were given a pamphlet describing the negative effects of prostitution and programs available for those seeking help. Det. Constable Wilson declined to release the names of those who have been charged.

Small community businesses are located on 12th Street, which has been used by street prostitutes for years. Police have occasionally conducted crackdowns on the street, without any apparent long-term effect.

Cpl. Hyland, who was with the New Westminster Police Service in 1999 and is now with the Ridge Meadows RCMP, told the court during the Pickton trial that she would begin her shift by driving along 12th Street to check on the prostitutes.

She would note the number of prostitutes on the street, who they were and whether they had any issues at that time, she said.

A media report in 1998 stated that New Westminster police estimated as many as 15 prostitutes were working at that time along 12th Street.

Similar to other not-in-my-backyard campaigns, the current crackdown on street prostitution in New Westminster is expected to lead to a shift in the location of the prostitutes’ business to another area.

The arrests in New Westminster will lead to “some dislocation,” Vancouver Police Department Constable Howard Chow said in an interview.

Vancouver police are prepared to deal with any shift, he said. The department has a full-time vice section that targets pimps and johns, Constable Chow said. Investigators with computer and telecommunication systems track activities across boundaries.

Ian Mitchell, co-ordinator of the Prostitution Offender Program, known colloquially as the john school, advocates education as an effective approach to the problems associated with street prostitution. “We have to look at how we socialize our boys. The supply [of prostitutes] is male and female. But the demand always comes from the males,” he said.

Some judges need education on the subject as well, Mr. Mitchell said, adding that the courts do not treat the offence as seriously as they should. “I would like to hold a school for judges,” he said. “Judges who make decisions in these cases should have their eyes opened.” The judges should see what police deal with, and hear from the women about what they experience on the streets, he said.

The one-day john school is an option in sentencing available in 12 jurisdictions in B.C. However, it is not available to those convicted in New Westminster.

Mr. Mitchell, who has been co-ordinating the sessions since 2000, said the program explains enforcement of the law and the impact on prostitutes and their families. Prostitution is not a victimless activity, he added.

“What we try to show them [the customers] is, you can get caught and you are hurting someone,” he said.

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