My suggestions for curbing prostitution in Arizona

Scott Mitzner

Submitted photo/Scott Mitzner

OPINION — In response to Howard Fischer’s news article, Arizona lawmakers add felony, mandatory fine to cut down on prostitution: Anyone who watches PBS knows prostitution is older than Arizona.

Considering Arizona is a community property state, the cost of dinner and a show and the demands of our work schedules, why play games? “Tough-on-crime” laws rarely work. Here are my suggestions to curb prostitution:

Newswriters must stop reporting only the House and Senate bill numbers, and provide the Arizona Revised Statute instead. 

If a “john” hires a prostitute through a pimp or escort service, is he “soliciting” a prostitute? They just beat the law! No prostitute will rat out her employer if she wants to live or continue getting drugs. Also, johns can be victims of entrapment by organized crime and corrupt police.

There is no team work! There must be special courts, special skilled parole and probation officers, requirement for counseling, requirement to stay medically disease- and drug-free with frequent medical tests, requirement to cooperate with police to get special sentencing, independent verification of victims of sex trafficking, repeat offenders can have an old case unsealed, requirement to get a job or participate in a work-study program and expungement of old cases if clean for several years. 

There should be forfeiture of a car, or house, or gun ownership if used in prostitution (prostitute and pimp). That works 100% of the time, in my opinion.

Bars, casinos, resorts, hotels or any place of public accommodation that allows prostitution should get an automatic license suspension or shut down for repeat offenses for prostitution and drug dealing. (Pimps do both).

I have been involved in community groups for 50-plus years that have tried to get laws passed to prevent the harm caused by prostitution. Organizations like cartels and gambling win every time.

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