Residents target sex trade in Winnipeg neighbourhood

[Sweet Emily J 172062]

[B][U]Residents target sex trade in Winnipeg neighbourhood[/U][/B]

[URL="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/07/09/mb-sex-trade-targeted-by-north-end-residents-winnipeg.html"]http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/07/09/mb-sex-trade-targeted-by-north-end-residents-winnipeg.html[/URL]

[QUOTE]
Some people on Winnipeg's Charles Street are having success with a public campaign aimed at sex trade workers and their customers.

They've posted signs letting johns know their licence plates could be recorded and posted online.

"I catch you propositioning a hooker, I'm gonna put you on Facebook or YouTube," said Russell Jackson, who put up the signs about a month ago.

The signs were ripped down a couple of times but he keeps putting them up and making them larger. And it has had an impact.

The nighttime noise from scantily clad sex trade workers and their trolling customers used to be a constant. Now, many of the sex trade workers have moved along, Jackson said.

However, many of the johns haven't got the message yet and are still trolling, approaching people not involved in the trade.

"Especially to question little kids, what's with that man? Sick and dirty minds," Jackson said. "We are tired of putting up with this; we're tired of our kids being harassed and we are tired of our wives being harassed.

"It's not wanted in this community no more and it's not going to be put up with. The signs are up for a reason."

[B]Residents urged to call police instead[/B]

Winnipeg police say they understand people want to make their neighbourhoods safer, but they warn people should not take matters into their own hands.

"I'm heartened by the fact that the residents are becoming involved. I encourage them to become involved within the system," said Sgt. Bonnie Emerson.

Emerson said residents can phone the Winnipeg Police Service's non-emergency number or Crime Stoppers to report concerns about the sex trade operating in their neighbourhoods.

Police can track where the calls are coming from and dedicate officers for neighbourhood sweeps, Emerson added.

"I'm going to target when those calls are coming in. If they're coming in at 6 a.m., then we know we're going to do a sweep at around 6 a.m.," she said.

"So making those phone calls and letting us know when they're happening at the time makes a huge difference."

[B]Serious consequences[/B]

Christine Bruckert, a criminologist at the University of Ottawa, said the Charles Street residents could face legal action for what they're doing.

Bruckert said publicly shaming drivers who stop to talk to women on the street â?? before they are even charged with an offence â?? has been tried in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto and Ottawa.

But she warned that the tactic, which she describes as a form of vigilante justice, could violate the rights of innocent drivers and severely affect their lives.

"Actually talking to someone about anything is not against the law," Bruckert said.

"Being a client of a sex worker is second only to being a sex worker in terms of stigma, so I think there can be humungous consequences in terms of people's reputation, their livelihood if their employer finds out."

Bruckert added that threatening to post drivers' licence plate numbers does not address the issue.

"It really speaks to a kind of a status offence that somehow anyone who's a sex worker is sort of an untouchable," she said.

Bruckert said sex workers are part of the community, too, and frustrated residents should start a dialogue with them through social service agencies if they want solutions.[/QUOTE]