New Haven Independent

Lights, Camera … Busted!

by Paul Bass | September 30, 2008 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

“Good, how are you?” the woman responded to the man driving the Chevy pick-up. “What do you want?”

He offered a price. She leaned into the window and repeated it. “Twenty dollars? All right? Pull up over here. Right up here. I’ll get in over here.”

That’s what she said. The Chevy pick-up driver, stopping to solicit the woman standing on lower Chapel Street at 11:39 p.m. on Aug. 14, can be excused for believing the woman would indeed catch up with his car, come in and provide oral sex for $20.

When he pulled over, though, a couple of New Haven police cruisers pulled up instead. Male cops leaped out and placed him under arrest.

It was night one of what have so far been six prostitution stings over the past six weeks. Police Chief James Lewis and Assistant Chief Pete Reichard devised the stings in response to a constant chorus of complaints from people in neighborhoods like Fair Haven about incessant street prostitution.

The stings have been a hit so far. (Click here and here to read previous stories and reader discussions about the campaign.)

Speaking in the police department’s third-floor detective bureau, Reichard (pictured in file photo) offered details of how the department orchestrates the stings in order both to make solid busts and to protect the safety of the female undercover cops posing as prostitutes. He used a dry-erase board to diagram how a team of officers sets up an area for the stings. He showed grainy VHS videos (no digital cameras yet) on a Panasonic Omnivision player of some of the first night’s 12 arrests in Fair Haven. (The police did not release copies of the videos for publication, for fear of revealing the identities of undercover cops involved in the stings.)

Two female cops were out on Chapel Street that August night, dressed in short sleeved shirts, nothing especially provocative. They had their hair up as they paced a dark block of Chapel Street, occasionally chatting with each other or giggling or speaking on cell phones as they awaited johns. They didn’t need to wait long.

And they didn’t need to play up their roles. They just had to be there to experience what many women encounter every day in parts of neighborhoods like Fair Haven — being solicited not because they advertise, but because they’re females who happen to be standing on a street.

“We’re not out soliciting,” Reichard said.

The undercover officers were prepped to wait for the men driving up to suggest buying sex and name a price. They were also instructed not to get into anybody’s car, but rather to direct the drivers up the road where cops hiding nearby could pull up to make the arrests.

The women would have the men state clearly their requests and repeat the price in order to confirm the transaction. One of the officers got into the role by trying to bargain up the driver of a minivan who pulled up at 11:58 p.m.

“What do you want? What do you want me to do ?” she asked. “What do you want to do to you?”

When he asked for sex, and inquired the price, she responded, “What you got?”

He said $20.

“Twenty? How about 30?”

He settled for $25.

“OK. Meet me over there. It’s hot out here.”

Cops stationed in four vehicles within a block of the action were watching, and listened in on mikes worn by the women. As one arrest was made, the cop who was propositioned checked in on her cell with a supervisor at one of the command posts. Then she handed the phone to her partner: “He says congratulations,” she reported.

The other cop cars were stationed in various directions. Some were “safety vehicles,” with officers ready to help if a propositioner grew violent. One vehicle was the audio-visual center, from which officers would record and monitor the action.

A “take down” station was set up a block away. The cops would drive the john there to be arrested. One of the officers would drive the john’s car to the station, from which point it would be towed.

Reichard said the department plans to continue the stings indefinitely. Each time business proves brisk; the trade is obviously thriving. The stings haven’t put a noticeable dent in the demand yet. The cops hope that publicity about the stings will eventually drive business elsewhere, Reichard said. In the meantime, the cameras are rolling.

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Comments

Posted by: Daniel Sumrall | September 30, 2008 12:37 PM

Solicited because they are "women," Paul. Using the term "females" suggests that women are some how lesser or animal-like because, because it's more of a clinicial term. I point this out because it's a subtle form of sexism that invades the language (I am not calling you a sexist nor anyone else, I'm pointing out an effect of the language used & something to think about in the future).

As to the actual police operation--this new chief is sure making a show. Few things are easier (and more hollow) than prostitution stings. If the police and city hall really wanted to make the streets safer for women, discourage abusive sexual dominance in men, and satisfy the ever-clamoring neighbors/parents they would initiate unions and create industry standards through legislation for sex workers.

Posted by: Cheri | September 30, 2008 3:04 PM

In response to Daniel, you seem to have good intentions, but let me make a point:
As a woman, I have been made to feel very uncomfortable, if not downright threatened, just because I've been walking down the street to do laundery, go to the store, etc. Not advertizing, or looking provative, but still getting treated like I may as well be a hooker. What's especially annoying about this is that it's one of the reasons I left living in a neighborhood that was more in my economic range. I feel like I've been forced to move downtown, in much more expensive housing in order to be more protected. Not that bad things don't happen where I live from time to time, but being surrounded by Yale students has helped as johns don't usually go looking for Yale students when they're looking for prostitutes. Certain areas of New Haven have been left under the radar for too long, and I am glad the new chief is trying to drive this activity out of town all together. Men just don't have to deal with this.

Posted by: 2Unique4U | September 30, 2008 3:33 PM

To Daniel Sumrall:

What are you talking about? U on drugs or something?

BTW, there IS a union for sex workers...IWW Sex Trade Workers Industrial Union 690. Check it out!! Join if you must!!

Posted by: oswald | September 30, 2008 7:39 PM

Gee,that doesn't sound like the cops are just ripping people out of their cars and arresting them for doing nothing.
If you re-read the article "Accused Johns Plead in Prostitution Sting," those poor innnocent "Johns" that plead quitly for no reason. This seems to shed a different light on how the stings actually went down.
This just goes to show that even though people were attempting to profess their innocence, they took the plea bargain because they were 100% guilty.
"My client is not admitting any guilt in this affair," Jefferson emphasized. "He just wants to put this matter behind him."

Michael of Branford, who told the Independent he was innocent of the charges, also declined to fight his charges. He was granted AR, too.

I don't know, I may not be as smart as Atty. Jefferson, but it sounds as if his client, as well a Michael from branford, were, in a word "GUILTY."

Posted by: cedarhillresident | September 30, 2008 8:12 PM

Thank you Cheri
Daniel Sumrall

I want to comment on your first statement. As a woman that lives in a community with prostitution. I feel the way Paul phrased it perfectly! Sometimes it gets so bad that I do not go out and care for my gardens. When a women is out cleaning her street and the dirty pigs slow down and even stop waiting for you to indicate you are a prostitute I FEEL JUST LIKE AN ANIMAL! These men drive through looking at the women in these areas as nothing else but prospective merchandise for there own pleasures. It at times can be terrifying but the best we can do is shug it off and go about the day. And at this point I love the way lewis is doing this. I totally get it. For many that do not live in the communitys that suffer with this crime it is hard to see how much help this can be at getting crime under control.
As for your second statement I agree more has to be done with DV but the police also know their is not much that can be done until the woman is ready. Yes anger management classes are a start. But it should also be mandatory that the women should go to classes so they can understand that the abuse is not part of most peoples lives. Education on the front line is important.

Posted by: Anonymous | October 1, 2008 8:00 AM

"It certainly must be annoying to be solicited while walking down the street in your
neighborhood; however, the solicitors have been rewarded by willing participants in
the past, this is the reason they keep coming back to certain areas. It is
wonderful that the police have decided to try and make a positive difference in
these communities. People should be able to walk in their communities free of
harassment. I also wonder if this is the best use of what seems to be rather scare
resources in the NH Police Dept. When we have limited resources, we need to weigh
not only the cost of this program, but also the opportunity costs for those things
that are not being done and that might affect more people and have a greater
long-term impact.

As someone said before, this seems to be an effort to be able to claim success in
one area. What are the larger and more serious types of crimes being committed in
our communities? Domestic violence and its insidious effects on children in myriad
ways is a great scourge in many communities. Robberies and break-ins are also comon
place. Maybe these officers could be conducting education classes to reduce the
incidents of DV and teaching men,women and children how to be safe and how to escape
this crippling type of violence. This type of crime is harder to tackle and does
not lend itself to the quick fix of taking down lecherous "johns." These take
ongoing commitment & understanding.

What about tackling the gang problems in many communities and trying to prevent
youngsters being initiated into gang violence by involving them into positive
activities sponsored by the police dept? The four or five officers involved in the
"stings" against prostitution could make really positive contributions to the lives
of teens that could have a positive multiplier effect on future generations. I
believe the police would feel more useful to the community and when potential
"johns" see police as an integral part of a community they are less likely to try to
solicit anyone. Let us get serious about real crimes.

Posted by: Kevin Ewing | October 1, 2008 1:22 PM

Just one quick comment concerning this being a quick claim of success for the PD.

If we look at outputs we can say that the program is being successful. Outputs look at number of arrests and all of those statistics.

Out comes, on the other hand, look at whether or not the program is making substantive changes in the community.

In other words, they can make 500 or 5000 arrests of prostitutes and johns. That is a tremendously successful output. However, the real question is did those arrests eliminate the issue. Did the prostitution on Chapel and Ferry and Winthrop or wherever go away. If the answer is no then the program can not claim success. So when Cedarhill Res can go out to her garden and work without being solicited then we have a successful outcome.

Keep up the good work chief. I think you're on the right track but I won't call it a success until the problem is gone. I don't expect to see it overnight (nor do I expect to see it in your 18 months) but hope that we will get there.

Lights, Camera … Busted!

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