A unique, cross-disciplinary research project involving UB and the Buffalo Police Department aimed at reducing street prostitution has received recognition from a national police group.
The University Community Initiative's Regional Community Policing Center, the Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA), the UB School of Social Work and the Buffalo Police Department worked collaboratively on the project, which earned the Herman Goldstein Award for excellence in problem-oriented policing at a December ceremony in San Diego.
The fundamental goal for the project "is to deter street-prostitution while also providing rehabilitation for offenders," said Pamela Beal, director of the Regional Community Policing Center.
The project was one of only six in the country earning recognition from the Police Execution Research Forum.
"The project presented evidence that street-level prostitution was connected to other problems - drugs, assaults and neighborhood decay," said Beal.
Beal said the problem analysis was multi-faceted, as researchers and participating students from the school of social work collected data from resident surveys and interviewed subjects, including both prostitutes and customers, called "johns."
The project came as a response to the high concentration of calls and arrests made for prostitution in Buffalo, generally in the Allentown area. Additionally, the project addressed longstanding complaints from community groups that prostitution created traffic congestion, noise, litter, harassment of residents and declining property values.
After lengthy analysis, researchers concluded that incarceration was more of a deterrent for people who solicit prostitutes than it was for the prostitutes themselves. Program coordinators, who noted that all prostitutes interviewed had addiction problems and low self-esteem, felt that incarceration may have been inappropriate for such individuals, according to Beal.
As a result, arresting "johns" rather than prostitutes became a key strategy in the BPD's initiative "Operation Johnny."
First-time offenders received mandatory sentencing in "john school," essentially an information session held once or twice a month with speakers from the health profession. The professionals discussed the risks of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases with offenders.
Apprehended prostitutes were enrolled in the Magdalene Program at the Beacon Center, a drug and rehabilitation center on Main Street. The program is designed for perpetual prostitutes and drug users, and offers a support group comprised largely of reformed prostitutes, many of whom are pursuing high school diplomas and taking part in religious services.
The university's research findings, coupled with the rehabilitative programs, were effective in addressing the problem of street prostitution, said Beal.
"Only one percent of the johns who complete john school are actually arrested for soliciting prostitution again," said Beal.
