Sting is a proactive police tool

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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Some people have criticized a recent prostitution sting by Marion police - which resulted in prostitution charges for nine men, including a senior pastor at a Cedar Rapids church - as being nothing more than a fishing expedition.

They argue that because sting wasn't based on citizen complaints or advance information received by authorities, it somehow was an overreach of police authority.

By their reasoning, police were simply setting up would-be johns by placing sexually explicit ads and arranging for an undercover female officer to pose as a prostitute.

But there's nothing unusual about police conducting a sting of this kind to enforce the law and alert the public to the presence of prostitution on The Corridor. Similar in concept to speed traps, alcohol sales stings and other occasional code-enforcement operations, the Oct. 14 sting plays a proactive public safety role.

In fact, this kind of policing is an important part of law enforcement's role in deterring, as well as arresting, crime.

Assisted by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Marion Police arrested nine men in just eight hours after advertising sexual services for sale on a website.

Police told a Gazette reporter they were surprised by how fast the men in question jumped at the offer.

“We were walking some of them out and there were others coming in,” Marion police Sgt. Lance Miller told that reporter.

Each faces one charge of prostitution, an aggravated misdemeanor - a relatively minor crime.

But that doesn't mean the sting was not worth police time and resources.

Anti-prostitution statutes are notoriously difficult to enforce. Especially with the proliferation of Internet advertisements, it can be hard for police to detect, investigate and prosecute violations.

That doesn't mean the crimes aren't a problem here - one need only look at Marion's recent sting for proof of that.

People who solicit sex don't fit any particular demographics, police say, perhaps because of the mistaken idea that breaking anti-prostitution laws is no big deal.

But far from being a “victimless crime,” prostitution is commonly associated with other, sometimes serious crimes - including crimes against children.

Internet crimes, including prostitution, solicitation of prostitution and crimes against children, are a common and growing area of criminal activity, police say.

Public and legal pressure may encourage individual websites - like Craigslist and backpage.com - to be more responsible about preventing sex trafficking, especially involving minors, through their sites. But that's far from enough.

Periodic stings are a valid approach to combat such a moving target.

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