Staff photo.
Prostitution and human trafficking are nationwide problems, and they are likely not going away anytime soon. In Homewood, however, the police department and its vice narcotics unit are working to combat the act of online prostitution as best as its forces allow.
Officers will monitor websites such as Backpage or Craigslist, where individuals will post ads regarding prostitution, and make sure the department’s presence is known, said Lt. Ben Sutton. Sutton said they are using “unconventional tactics,” which he did not want to give away. While those tactics do not always lead to arrests, Sutton said they slow down postings for the Homewood area for a few weeks.
“Every time so far, we will get them kicked out of the hotel, and we will serve notice to the rest of the hotels who they are and what they’re doing,” Sutton said. “So our goal is to as best we can, rid the hotels of this, but we know we can’t stop it all.”
From the start of the year through July, Sutton said, they had about seven operations and made about 10 arrests. Not all of those arrests mean the individual was booked, however, and not all charges are prostitution related. Sutton said when an officer enters a room for which there was a Backpage or Craigslist listing, there may be drugs or other items out in plain view. Individuals may also be arrested on outstanding warrants from other cities.
While residents are welcome to call in concerns about potential crime, Sutton said it is important to remember there are certain situations in which the police department cannot act.
“I can’t stop anybody from wanting to go look and see what’s going on, but they have to understand we’re not going to violate somebody’s civil rights, and they have every right to rent a hotel room if they’re doing things the right way,” he said. “... When they’re walking down the street in a way you don’t find proper, but that’s not against the law, we’re not going to go hassle those people.”
At this time, the department is also dealing with a strain on manpower in these cases, Sutton said, as vice narcotics officers also have to work on narcotics cases and other crimes in the area.
“I would like the people to know we do take this seriously, we do investigate it and we do try, but we wish we had more manpower to deal with it, but we don’t, so we do what we can,” Sutton said.