Boston, MA
Categories:
Tactics Used |
|
---|---|
Reverse stings | ✓ |
Shaming | ✓ |
Auto seizure | ✓ |
Community service | ✓ |
Public education | ✓ |
Neighborhood action | ✓ |
SOAP orders | ✓ |
John school | ✓ |
Letters | ✓ |
Cameras | ✓ |
Web stings | ✓ |
License suspension | ✓ |
Boston is the capital of (and the largest city within) Massachusetts, and has a population of approximately 600,000 in the city proper (and about two million in the greater metropolitan area). Prostitution and sex trafficking have been identified by residents, businesses, service providers, and police as substantial problems in the city.
To address consumer-level demand for commercial sex, which drives both prostitution and sex trafficking markets, the Boston Police Department began conducting street-level reverse stings in 1976. By the mid-1980s, city officers were among the most proactive and aggressive departments in the nation to utilize the tactic. Police began conducting frequent and large-scale john stings as part of an ongoing initiative known as “Operation Squeeze.” The operations, which deployed one or more undercover female officers as decoys, were conducted on a near monthly basis. When asked why BPD strategy targeted sex buyers over sellers, one officer noted “[prostituted women] are not doing it because they enjoy it, they’re doing it to support [themselves]… and they wouldn’t be walking the streets if there were no customers” (Boston Globe, May 1994).
At the same time, local officials and law enforcement furthered efforts by testing several new policies designed to deter johns from soliciting in the first place. In the early 1980s, the city experimented with sending “Dear John” letters to the homes of offenders, notifying other residents and family members of the arrest. In 1994, city officials (led by Mayor Thomas Menino) endorsed the airing of johns’ court arraignments on public access cable. Though both failed to gain traction, similar shaming techniques are still employed. As of 2012, sex buyers may have their names released to local media outlets and/or posted to the BPD’s official website.
The landscape of Boston’s commercial sex market has also changed substantially. Once concentrated in the city’s “Combat Zone” (a stretch of the downtown area historically associated with adult theaters, pornography shops and street prostitution), Boston’s prostitution activity has become much less centralized in recent years, as increased policing and city ordinances have successfully “cleaned up” areas once favored by solicitors. In response, the BPD has expanded its strategy to incorporate new areas for targeted surveillance, such as Dorchester Avenue. In their efforts, officers have engaged with community members and frequently utilize residents’ tips about suspected prostitution activity.
In 2012, the BPD stepped up its enforcement efforts targeting johns. The department began to charge some of the men with felony-level violations of the state’s new human trafficking statutes that raised the level of offense and the maximum fines for sex buyers. They conduct operations targeting buyers of sex from both adults and children, and conduct both street-level and web-based reverse stings. In addition, they have begun to leverage johns to make cases against pimps and traffickers. Arrested johns that have arranged to buy sex through pimps are sometimes asked to become “confidential informants,” and to provide evidence that can be used to make cases against pimps and human traffickers. This is a promising tactic, since most cases against pimps and traffickers rely upon evidence supplied by survivors (prostituted women or sex trafficking victims), who are seldom in a position to cooperate with prosecutors effectively, willingly, or without placing themselves are risk of retaliation.
In February 2014, over 20 men from Boston and nearby suburbs were arrested by the Boston Police Department and then charged with seeking sex for a fee and other crimes after recent online prostitution stings, done in collaboration with the Suffolk County district attorney’s office. Some of the men resolved their cases by paying a $1,000 fine and watching a brief “john school” video about the risks associated with prostitution.
Online Prostitution Prevention Class (John School):
An online education program for sex buyers has been developed by the North American Learning Institute for availability in Massachusetts. Men may be asked or required to complete the Prostitution Prevention Class, or john school, by a judge, court, parole officer, probation officer, or a state, county, or city official. This first offender prostitution program is often required as part of a prostitution intervention or diversion program. The Prostitution Prevention Class is offered in minimum time requirements of four (4), eight (8), twelve (12), or sixteen (16) hours. The course cost ranges from $25 to $85 dollars, depending on its length. A timer is provided to help keep track of time spent within the course. Users may start and stop the Prostitution Prevention Class as often as needed, and their progress will be saved each time. The entire Prostitution Prevention Class can be completed online and does not require a call to a staff member or visit an office to complete the program. The Prostitution Prevention Class is presented in 10 separate sections, and a certificate of completion will be provided when all the modules have been finished.
- Introduction
- Prostitution
- Legal status
- Health risks
- Financial consequences
- Effect on prostitutes
- Procuring (pimps/traffickers)
- Associated community problems
- Sexual addiction
- Resources and references
Key Partners
- Boston Police Department
- Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office
- Demand Abolition
- North American Learning Institute
Key Sources
National Assessment Survey and Interviews
Street-Level Reverse Stings:
- “Anti-Prostitution Team Nabs 33”, Boston Globe, July 13 1986.
- “Soliciting Arrests Made by Hub Police”, Boston Globe, June 29 1987.
- “17 Men Arrested in Prostitute Sting”, Boston Globe, April 10 1993.
- “Boston Sting Nabs 21 Alleged Sex Customers”, Boston Globe, July 19 1993.
- “Arresting Customers Key to the Strategy, Police Say”, Boston Globe, May 3 1994.
- “‘John’ Sting Nets 14 on Charges of Soliciting”, Boston Globe, May 7 1994.
- “Undercover Operation Nets 20 Alleged ‘Johns’ in the City”, Boston Globe, January 22 1995.
- “17 Men Arrested in Sex-Fee Sting”, Boston Globe, March 26 1995.
- “Prostitution Sting Nets 13 ‘Johns'”, Boston Globe, November 14 1995.
- “Police Arrest 14 Men on Soliciting Charges”, Boston Globe, May 12 1996.
- “Prostitution Sting Nets 141 Arrests”, Boston Globe, August 5 1996.
- “City Prostitution Sweep Nets 56”, Boston Globe, June 9 1997.
- “Prostitution Sting Brings in 77 Arrests”, Boston Globe, August 4 1997.
- “Police Arrest 53 in Sting Operation”, Boston Globe, December 22 1997.
- “16 Are Charged in Prostitution Sting”, Boston Globe, January 26 1998.
- “48 Held in ‘Operation Squeeze'”, Boston Globe, February 23 1998.
- “Police Charge 80 with Soliciting Sex”, Boston Globe, March 20 1998.
- “42 Arrested in Prostitution Sting”, Boston Globe, May 31 1998.
- “Squeeze Ends in 78 Hub Arrests”, Boston Globe, August 10 1998.
- “Boston’s Squeeze on Prostitution Wrings Mixed Response”, Boston Globe, August 21 1998.
- “Weekend Sweep Nets 32 Arrests”, Boston Globe, December 7 1998.
- “34 Arrested in Effort Against Prostitution”, Boston Globe, June 7 1999.
- “Vice Crackdown Nets 53 Arrests”, Boston Globe, July 23 2001.
- “Prostitution Sweep Brings 32 Arrests”, Boston Globe, October 1 2001.
- “42 Arrested in Prostitution Crackdown”, Boston Globe, December 3 2001.
- “Operation Squeeze Strikes Again”, Press Release, Boston Police Department, July 26 2003.
- “Prostitution Sting Nabs Five”, Boston Police News, May 28 2006.
- “Prostitution Sting Nabs Five”, Boston Police News, August 6 2006.
- “‘Operation Squeeze’ Yields Arrests of Several ‘Johns'”, Boston Police News, December 30 2006.
- “‘Operation Squeeze’ Nets Five Suspects for Sex for a Fee”, Boston Police News, February 11 2007.
- “‘Johns’ Arrested in Operation Squeeze”, Boston Police News, March 25 2007.
- “Operation Squeeze Nets Numerous Arrests for Sex for a Fee and Firearm”, Boston Police News, November 8 2007.
- “Operation Squeeze Nets Numerous ‘Johns'”, Boston Police News, January 13 2008.
- “‘Operation Squeeze’ Nets Five ‘Johns'”, Boston Police News, February 24 2008.
- “‘Operation Squeeze’ Nets 7 Johns for Soliciting Sex”, Boston Police News, April 19 2008.
- “Operation Squeeze: When Will They Learn?”, Boston Police News, May 24 2008.
- “Operation Squeeze Lands Ten Behind Bars”, Boston Police News, February 8 2009.
- “Five ‘Johns’ Arrested in Undercover Prostitution Sting”, Boston Globe, May 13 2011.“Community Concerns About Prostitution Lead to Three Arrests in Operation Squeeze”, Boston Police News, July 29 2011.
- “Four ‘Johns’ Arrested During ‘Operation Squeeze'”, Boston Police News, September 27 2011.
- “‘Operation Squeeze’ Results in the Arrests of Numerous ‘Johns'”, Boston Police News, September 30 2011.
- “Police Take on the ‘Demand-Side’ of the Sex Trade Along Dot Ave”, Dorchester Reporter, October 18 2012.
Web-Based Reverse Stings (with Shaming since at least 2016):
- “Undercover Investigation Enables the Human Trafficking Unit to Arrest Five Suspects During On-line Sting”, Boston Police News, August 17 2012.
- “Boston Police Arrest 6 Men in Prostitution Sting”, New England Cable News (NECN), October 10 2012.
- “Brookline Man Busted in Online Prostitution Sting”, Brookline Patch, February 4 2014.
- “Middleton Man Charged after Online Stings by Boston PD”, Taunton Daily Gazette, February 4 2014.
- “18 Would-Be Johns Arrested After Online Prostitution Sting in Boston”, Boston Globe, February 5 2014.
- https://www.metro.us/local/prostitution-sting-nets-nearly-two-dozen-men-from-boston-suburbs (2014)
- “Northeastern Professor Arrested in Prostitution Sting,” Boston Globe, February 5 2016.
- “Super Bowl Sex Trafficking Sting Nets over 500 Sex Buyers, 30 Pimps,” Press Release, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, February 9 2016.
Neighborhood Action:
- “Reclaiming Chinatown: Residents and City Take Action to Curb Growing Prostitution Trade”, Boston Globe, August 6 1992.
- “Fenway Residents Fight Back by Hanging Out, Maintain Street-Corner Vigil to Curb Prostitution”, Boston Globe, August 2 1993.
- “Goal Is to Eliminate Problem by Driving off Customers,” Boston Globe, May 4 1994.
- “Chasing Away Crime on Blue Hill Ave”, Boston Herald, August 21 2011.
- “Turning Trouble Spots into Opportunities”, Boston Globe, August 6 2012.
- “Residents Press Police to Curb Prostitution Along Dorchester Ave”, Boston.com, September 25 2012.
- “In Tackling Prostitution, Target the Buyers, Not the Sellers”, Boston Globe, October 1 2012.
Shaming:
- “Menino Seeks to Put ‘Johns’ on TV”, Boston Globe, August 16 1994.
- “Judge Delays Plan to Put ‘Johns’ on TV”, Boston Globe, December 1 1994.
- “Tape Rolls on Alleged Prostitute Seekers”, Boston Globe, January 25 1995.
- “The Shame Game”, Boston Globe, April 2 1996.
John School:
Community Service:
- “Judge Backs Proposal to Put ‘Johns’ to Work in Community Service”, Boston Globe, April 4 1996.
- https://boston.cbslocal.com/minister-arrested-prostitution-sting-archie-livingston-foxworth-dorchester-boston-police/ (2017)
Sex Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation in the Area:
- “Ranks of Mobs Dwindle Under Police Attack; Eight Arrested”, St. Petersburg Times, April 26 1936.
- “Odyssey of a Young Prostitute”, Boston Globe, August 13 1982.
- “At Age 16: Beaten, Sold, Forced into Prostitution”, Boston Globe, March 15 1984.
- “Man Indicted for Luring Underage Runaways into Prostitution Ring”, Lewiston Sun Journal, February 4 1998.
- “Leaving ‘the Life’; Now Seen as Victims of Abuse, Teen Prostitutes Get Help to Break Free”, Boston Globe, June 21 2006.
- “Bound for Misery: On the Fast-Moving Circuit of International Sex Trafficking, Say Police, Women Regularly Shuttle In and Out of Boston”, Boston Globe, January 7 2007.
- “Prostitution Sting Charges 7 as FBI Puts Focus on Youth”, Boston Globe, July 6 2008.
- “A Former Teenage Prostitute Struggles to Move On”, Boston Globe, October 10 2010.
- “Dorchester Man Charged in Human Trafficking, Prostitution Ring”, FOX/WFXT-TV 25, December 19 2012.
- “Sex Offender Charged in Prostitution,” Boston Globe, December 19 2012.
- “105 Kids Rescued from Prostitution Rings; 159 Arrested”, USA Today, July 29 2013.
- “Suspect May Plead Guilty in Quincy Kidnapping, Prostitution Case”, Quincy Patriot Ledger, October 11 2013.
- “Portland Man Charged with Transporting Three for Prostitution”, Portland Press Herald, October 22 2013.
- “Boston Man Convicted of Prostitution Charges”, Springfield Republican, October 23 2013.
- “Man Accused of Taking Portland Women to Boston for Prostitution”, Portland Press Herald, December 11 2013.
- “Two Nabbed in Salem Prostitution Sting”, North Andover Eagle-Tribune, February 7 2014.
- “Roxbury Man Accused of Exploiting Teen Under New Law”, Boston Globe, February 19 2014.
- “Boston Man Charged with Human Trafficking”, Boston Herald, February 20 2014.
- “Boston Man Convicted of Sex Trafficking”, Lynn Daily Item, May 21 2014.
- “Providence Man Held in Sex Trafficking Case”, CBS/WPRI-TV 12, August 27 2014.
- “Man Guilty of Transporting Women for Prostitution”, CBS/WABI-TV 5, September 1 2014.
- “Boston Man Receives 12 1/2-Year Prison Sentence for Trafficking Teenage Girl for Sex”, Springfield Republican, September 12 2014.
- “Portland Man who Brought Maine Woman to Boston for Prostitution Sentenced to Four Years in Prison”, Bangor Daily News, September 24 2014.
- “5 Investigates Undercover Finds Prostitution, ‘Human Trafficking’,” ABC/WCVB-TV 5, November 24 2014.
- “Boston Man Sentenced for Forcing Teen into Prostitution,” Boston Herald, December 18 2014.
- “Boston Man Gets Prison for Transporting 3 Women from Maine for Prostitution,” Greenfield Daily Reporter, May 22 2015.
- “Boston Man Gets 7 Years for Exploiting Teenager,” Boston Herald, June 5 2015.
- “2 Plead Guilty to Driving Teen to Engage in Prostitution,” New England Cable News (NECN), September 22 2015.
- “Central Falls Man to Serve 13 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking Teen, 22-Year-Old,” Providence Journal, October 20 2015.
- “Boston Men Plead Guilty to Transporting Girl for Prostitution,” Salem Patch, October 26 2015.
- “Randolph Man Indicted for Sex Trafficking,” Randolph Patch, December 2 2015.
- “Man Pleads Guilty to Operating Human-Trafficking Ring in Boston Area,” NBC/WHDH-TV 7, February 1 2016.
- “Dorchester Man Admits in Court He Was a Pimp,” Boston Globe, February 25 2016.
- https://www.bostonglobe.com/boston-woman-charged-with-human-trafficking-massage-parlor-prostitution-bust (2018)
Background on Prostitution in the Area:
- “Now and Then: Chinatown, Combat Zone”, Boston.com.
- “Police Deputy Sends Message on Prostitution”, Boston Globe, May 2 1994.
- “Prostitution Seen Throughout City”, Boston Globe, May 4 1994.
- “Prostitution Thrives Amid Cleanup Bids: Fears of AIDS, Arrests Seem to Deter Few”, Boston Globe, May 15 1994.
- “Prostitution Casting a Pall on E. Boston”, Boston Globe, August 27 1995.
- “Prostitution Rise Fought: Dear John – Councilors Want to Hike Your Fines”, Boston Globe, September 7 2003.
- “Police Aim: Stop Surge in Prostitution, Immigration Advocates Fear for Women Involved”, Boston Globe, January 28 2006.
- “Community Complaints Relative to Drug and Prostitution Activity Help Police Bust After-Hours Party House in Charlestown”, Boston Police News, May 24 2012.
- “Despite Law, Sex Trade Clients Seldom Punished”, Boston Globe, December 9 2013.
- https://patch.com/massachusetts/arlington/arlington-massage-parlor-was-prostitution-front-da (2018)
Documented Violence against Individuals Engaged in Prostitution in the Area:
- “Fired Professor Charged in Prostitute’s ‘Slaying'”, Montreal Gazette, November 1 1983.
- “A Murder Trial, with No Body Found,” Boston Globe, November 1 1983.
- “Murder Charge against Tufts Professor Rocks Medical School,” New York Times, November 20 1983.
- “Prostitute Pleads Guilty to Soliciting; Alleged Chinatown Beating Victim,” Boston Globe, May 16 1985.
- “Chinatown Shows New Unity in Huang Assault Case,” Boston Globe, May 18 1985.
- “2 Convicted of Torturing Ex-Prostitute,” Boston Globe, December 10 1985.
- “N.H. Man Arraigned in Stranglings of Two Prostitutes Cites Self-Defense”, Boston Globe, March 25 1986.
- “Boston Detective Returns to Force after Suspension in Assault Case,” Boston Globe, September 10 1986.
- “South Boston Man Arraigned in Stabbing Death of Prostitute”, Boston Globe, May 8 1991.
- “Woman Alleges Officer Forced Sex,” Boston Globe, April 30 1994.
- “On-Duty Officer Is Charged with Rape,” Boston Globe, May 1 1994.
- “Ex-Officer Indicted in Rape; Suffolk Grand Jury Listens to Prostitute’s Account,” Boston Globe, June 17 1994.
- “A Lonely Struggle to Survive: Fear of Arrest Leaves Assaulted Prostitutes on Their Own”, Boston Globe, June 25 1994.
- “Attack Called ‘Vicious, Predatory’; Male Prostitute Was Kicked to Death, Officials Say,” Boston Globe, February 25 1997.
- “2 Men Surrender in Beating Death of Male Prostitute,” Boston Globe, February 26 1997.
- “Prostitution Link Probed in Slayings,” Boston Globe, May 6 1997.
- “Victim’s Past Overshadows Murder,” Boston Globe, November 15 1999.
- “Former Prostitutes Issue Safety Warning,” Boston Globe, May 19 2002.
- “Ex-Prostitute Awarded $200,000 in Damages,” Boston Globe, March 16 2011.
State | Massachusetts |
Type | City |
Population | 599351 |
Location |
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