“With Craigslist there is no need for pimps,” said a 35 year old sex worker in San Francisco.
Chicago Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart agrees with her and is accusing Craigslist as being one of the largest sources of prostitution in the country. His office claims that Craigslist’s erotic section is making it easier for pimps and prostitutes to market themselves and evade the police.
First Craigslist takes all the classified dollars from local newspapers, and now they’re taking hookers and pimps from our red light district. Is there no end to the menace of Craigslist?
Honestly, I don’t know what Chicago’s Dart is complaining about. There’s lots of evidence of Craigslist actually helping law enforcement catch criminals and I can’t think of an easier way to catch them than through a computer. They’re posting up there, just create a fake profile connect, and arrest them – prostitutes, pimps, or Johns.
Check out CNET’s long history covering this story.
This news item is for the Spark Minute week of 3/9/09 which can be heard daily on Green 960 and 910 KNEW in San Francisco, CA.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
If prostitution is off the streets and on the internet, what is the problem? We’re wasting our money fighting a crime that will never, ever, ever, ever, go away. Much smarter to legalize, regulate and tax it. This ensures it stays off the streets and that health standards are adhered to. Making it a crime is silly and fruitless.
Good point, Grant. We could use the money from that illegal activity to help fill our huge national deficit. It’s good to get prostitution off the streets and with regulation, we could eliminate pimps and much of the lawlessness that prevents the real crimes against sex workers from getting reported and prevented.
a. Craigslist makes it hard for cops to be on the take from prostitutes and pimps. This is a particularly big deal in Chicago.
b. Haven’t we settled that titillation items are also free speech.
c. A lot of commercial sex ads are flagged out by Craigslist viewers, who are strongly invited to do so by the rules.