Lakewood, WA
Categories:
Tactics Used |
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---|---|
Reverse stings | ✓ |
Shaming | ✓ |
Auto seizure | ✓ |
Community service | ✓ |
Public education | ✓ |
Neighborhood action | ✓ |
SOAP orders | ✓ |
John school | ✓ |
Letters | ✓ |
Cameras | ✓ |
Web stings | ✓ |
License suspension | ✓ |
Lakewood is a city in the Puget Sound region of Washington with a population of about 57,000. Prostitution and sex trafficking markets have a documented presence in the city, and produce a number of additional problems, such as attempted homicide and assault. For example, in 2013 two men negotiated with a pimp to “hire” two prostituted women. The pimp shot one of the men in the head for refusing to pay her after the deal fell apart. The pimp was charged with first-degree attempted murder, second-degree assault, first-degree attempted robbery and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. The 65-year-old victim survived.
In an effort to reduce the demand for commercial sex, police conduct street-level reverse stings. The city is also able to issue SOAP (or “Stay Out of Areas with Prostitution”) orders, barring arrested johns from entering areas in the city known for commercial sex for a specified period of time.
The city offers a john school program where men arrested for solicitation receive STD tests and learn that many of the women who engage in prostitution are not doing so by choice. There are various presenters for this program including formerly prostituted women and neighborhood residents who would like prostitution to end in their communities because of a wide range of negative effects it produces. The john school is a collaborative effort that also serves the cities of Tacoma and Fife, as well as Pierce County. More information about the john school is provided on the DemandForum page for Tacoma.
Key Partners
Key Sources
- John School:
- “A New Approach to Stop the Oldest Profession; Tacoma, Lakewood and Fife Team Up to Tackle Prostitution: This Summer, They’ll Offer a Counseling Program for Men Arrested for Soliciting Sex”, Tacoma News Tribune, July 2 2005.
- “New Tricks Try to Inhibit World’s Oldest Profession”, Tacoma News Tribune, September 11 2005.
- “First Men Pass John School, Where Everyone Knows Your Shame; Eight Offenders Graduate from John School, a Diversion Program for Men Caught Soliciting Streetwalkers in Tacoma, Lakewood and Fife”, Tacoma News Tribune, October 25 2005.
- “Higher Prostitution Fines Planned”, Tacoma News Tribune, November 29 2006.
- Reverse Stings:
- “Lakewood Paper to Fight Subpoena for Brown Arrest; Photos Say Paper Was Working with Police in Prostitution Sting”, Tacoma News Tribune, August 11 1997.
- “Judge Rules Newspaper Can Keep Sting Photos”, Tacoma News Tribune, August 12 1997.
- “Councilman Acquitted; Wendell Brown Found Not Guilty in Prostitution Sting Case; Jurors Accept His Explanation That He Was Just Looking for Evidence to Report to Sheriff’s Department”, Tacoma News Tribune, November 7 1997.
- “Prostitution Sting Nets 23 Men, Drug Lab, Big Rig; Lakewood Sheriff’s Crackdown on Pacific Highway Southwest Results in Drug Charges, Too”, Tacoma News Tribune, September 6 2000.
- “Prostitution Sting Changes Father’s ‘Gift’ into an Arrest”, Tacoma News Tribune, June 16 2002.
- “Prostitution Stings Net 44 Arrests; In Three Undercover Stings, Area Law Enforcement Officers Arrest 44 Men on Suspicion of Trying to Pick Up Prostitutes”, Tacoma News Tribune, October 16 2004.
- “Seattle Police Officer Arrested in Lakewood Prostitution Sting”, Tacoma News Tribune, October 20 2004.
- “Lakewood: Police Arrest 18 Men, Eight Women in Undercover Prostitution Sting”, Tacoma News Tribune, February 26 2005.
- “First Men Pass John School, Where Everyone Knows Your Shame; Eight Offenders Graduate from John School, a Diversion Program for Men Caught Soliciting Streetwalkers in Tacoma, Lakewood and Fife”, Tacoma News Tribune, October 25 2005.
- “Man Takes Records Fight Regionwide”, Tacoma News Tribune, April 21 2008.
- “Public Records Fight Lives On”, Tacoma News Tribune, July 19 2009.
- “Public Records Pest No Excuse to Limit Access”, Tacoma News Tribune, January 5 2010.
- “Lakewood Gadfly Arrested for Alleged Prostitution Solicitation”, Lakewood Patch, September 12 2011.
- SOAP Orders:
- “City Wants Prostitute-Free Zone; Lakewood Might Bar Streetwalkers from Entering Tillicum; One of the Highest Crime Areas in Lakewood Might See a Tougher Crackdown on Prostitution”, Tacoma News Tribune, March 7 2005.
- Sex Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation in the Area:
- “Craigslist Sting Brings Eight Arrests”, Tacoma News Tribune, August 2 2008.
- “2 Men Plead Not Guilty to Backpage Charges; Prostitution: Victims Feared Men Who Posted Ads of Them Online”, Tacoma News Tribune, October 9 2012.
- “Tacoma Man Charged with Allegedly Prostituting Teen Girls”, Lakewood Patch, January 27 2013.
- “Tacoma Man, Teen Girlfriend Charged with Prostituting Teen on Backpage.com”, Tacoma News Tribune, February 15 2013.
- “Violent Tacoma Pimp Sentenced to 15 Years”, Tacoma News Tribune, April 30 2013.
- “Authorities Rescue 3 Child Victims, Nab 9 Pimps in WA Prostitution Sweep”, Lakewood Patch, July 29 2013.
- http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/topic/prostitution/
- Background on Prostitution in the Area:
- “Community Has Declared War Before on X-Rated Foe”, Tacoma News Tribune, December 14 1997.
- “City Wants to Clean Up Image, But Strip Clubs, Bookstores Have No Plans to Leave”, Tacoma News Tribune, May 3 2002.
- “Sex Zone Back on the Table in Lakewood; New Talks: Businesses Invited to Join as Leaders Try to ‘Do Over'”, Tacoma News Tribune, January 23 2004.
- “Police Arrest Fellow Officer in Parking Lot; Lakewood Police Arrest One of Their Own While Investigating a Suspected Prostitute”, Tacoma News Tribune, January 28 2005.
- “Finally a Force, Lakewood Police Department Comes of Age”, Tacoma News Tribune, November 20 2005.
- “Lakewood Considers Law to Outwit Prostitutes”, Tacoma News Tribune, September 30 2009.
- “Warrant Issued for Woman Charged with Being a Pimp”, Tacoma News Tribune, September 4 2013.
- Prostitution-related violence:
- “Woman Charged with Shooting Man in Head After Prostitution Deal Falls Through”, Tacoma News Tribune, August 21 2013.
- “Police Beat: Woman Who Said She Was Raped Jailed on Old Prostitution Charge”, Tacoma News Tribune, December 4 1992.
State | Washington |
Type | City |
Population | 57231 |
Location |
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