Baltimore to Stop Prosecuting Prostitution (and other misdemeanors)

[rachelvarga]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/after ... r-BB1f0A5C

Sad it takes a pandemic to get a city to stop prosecuting sex workers but hey if it works out for the best then so be it.

[SIDEWINDER]

I kind of have mixed feelings. I always felt certain drug arrest along with prostitution were a waste of time and money. At the same time, it looks like they might  be opening themselves up to more crime such as theft if criminals know they will not be prosecuted.  Pimps will be coming from every major city to Baltimore knowing nothing will happen to the women they put on the streets.  I think they need to fine tune their plans just a little.[/size]

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4 ... 0Wednesday.

[CronusWalker]

I kind of have mixed feelings. I always felt certain drug arrest along with prostitution were a waste of time and money. At the same time, it looks like they might  be opening themselves up to more crime such as theft if criminals know they will not be prosecuted.  Pimps will be coming from every major city to Baltimore knowing nothing will happen to the women they put on the streets.  I think they need to fine tune their plans just a little.[/size]

I agree that what they have done might need some fine tuning.... For example the pimps could still be charged with sex slavery, kidnapping and imprisonment, etc. and still not be a prostitution charge. [/size][/size]


https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4 ... 0Wednesday.

[Wildfire]

True liberals soft on crime. They are to lazy to enforce the laws.

[rachelvarga]

I kind of have mixed feelings. I always felt certain drug arrest along with prostitution were a waste of time and money. At the same time, it looks like they might  be opening themselves up to more crime such as theft if criminals know they will not be prosecuted.  Pimps will be coming from every major city to Baltimore knowing nothing will happen to the women they put on the streets.  I think they need to fine tune their plans just a little.[/size]

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4 ... 0Wednesday.

There isn't going to be a flood of pimps. It doesn't change anything because pimping isn't a misdemeanor so it doesn't help them.

[rachelvarga]

True liberals soft on crime. They are to lazy to enforce the laws.

So do you think prostitution laws should be enforced?

I'm not liberal or conservative but it looks to me like both sides go too far. Liberals protect criminals and conservatives make everyone into criminals using the law to enforce their moral beliefs.

[JimDiGriz]

It's not the lack of prosecution for prostitution that concerns me, but the misdemeanors.  Los Angeles declined to prosecute certain misdemeanors, and some of them are dangerous like resisting arrest or possessing a controlled substance.  CA in general has reduced shoplifting of under $950 to a misdemeanor, with the result of people shoplifting more.  I don't have the numbers of the loss to business or the number of businesses (like Walgreens) that close because of losses and I don't know how to look it up.  But people who're inclined to commit certain crimes will do so when the punishment goes away or is radically reduced.

[Cobia]

It's not the lack of prosecution for prostitution that concerns me, but the misdemeanors.  Los Angeles declined to prosecute certain misdemeanors, and some of them are dangerous like resisting arrest or possessing a controlled substance.  CA in general has reduced shoplifting of under $950 to a misdemeanor, with the result of people shoplifting more.  I don't have the numbers of the loss to business or the number of businesses (like Walgreens) that close because of losses and I don't know how to look it up.  But people who're inclined to commit certain crimes will do so when the punishment goes away or is radically reduced.

Exactly.

[SIDEWINDER]

And to make matters worse, if police know crimes such as theft will not be prosecuted, they will not even bother to show up meaning thieves can just walk in a store and take what they want and leave without even having to hide their crime. Honest people will end up paying for it in higher prices. [/size]

[Glennster1]

And to make matters worse, if police know crimes such as theft will not be prosecuted, they will not even bother to show up meaning thieves can just walk in a store and take what they want and leave without even having to hide their crime. Honest people will end up paying for it in higher prices. [/size]

And that is how fresh food deserts occur in specific areas.

[JimDiGriz]

And to make matters worse, if police know crimes such as theft will not be prosecuted, they will not even bother to show up meaning thieves can just walk in a store and take what they want and leave without even having to hide their crime. Honest people will end up paying for it in higher prices. [/size]

You're right, and sadly it can get worse than that depending on how much is being stolen.  I read an article in the Wall Street Journal where some Walgreens in San Francisco are just shutting down because they lose so much money to theft.  So it's not that customers have to pay more for goods, it's that there's no place to buy those goods.

(I don't know how prevalent this is, but I can see it getting even worse.  Right now the county will keep collecting property taxes on the abandoned Walgreens locations.  But if the absence of enforcement continues long-term, Walgreens (and other corporations who're shutting down locations in CA) may decide the cost of a tear-down is less than the property taxes.  When that happens, the county can only tax an empty lot which does not attract builders because of CA building codes.)

[rachelvarga]

It's not the lack of prosecution for prostitution that concerns me, but the misdemeanors.  Los Angeles declined to prosecute certain misdemeanors, and some of them are dangerous like resisting arrest or possessing a controlled substance.  CA in general has reduced shoplifting of under $950 to a misdemeanor, with the result of people shoplifting more.  I don't have the numbers of the loss to business or the number of businesses (like Walgreens) that close because of losses and I don't know how to look it up.  But people who're inclined to commit certain crimes will do so when the punishment goes away or is radically reduced.

Right, they should decide which ones and not have an overall.