This is an archived article that was published on sltrib. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted. Most men patronizing prostitutes on a recent weekday avoided the group chatting in front of a business between and South on Salt Lake City's State Street. Just shy of p. Down rolled the window. A young woman in a long gray shirt and black pants sidled up to the window. They exchanged indecipherable words before the woman walked off, apparently unable to come to terms with her prospective customer.
The man then casually climbed out of his car and briefly peered into a shop window filled with women's clothes and lingerie before leaving. But police have shifted how they address the crime. Police reported 31 arrests for commercial sex crimes last year, compared with such arrests in Early last year, Burbank disbanded the vice squad after questionable practices by some detectives, including investigating such crimes outside city limits and violating the police department's "no touch policy" as they sought to get evidence of prostitution.
Burbank also said a lot of commercial sex crimes are shifting from the streets to the Internet, and that calls from residents reporting cars stretched deep around their neighborhoods are on the decline. But residents living in the neighborhoods that traditionally have seen the most money-for-sex trade said it's still there, even if it's not being actively reported. She pulled out a cellphone and flashed through photos she has taken: This woman has AIDS and doesn't use protection or tell the men she's with about her illness.
That one has been walking the streets for several months, and Tammy watched her get out of one john's car and into another just minutes later. She's seen women dumped beaten and naked by johns who decided they didn't want to pay for services rendered. On that afternoon, buyers were persistent, throwing out pickup lines: "Do you need a ride? One even bluntly asks for crack.
Police say most of the women working the streets are addicts looking for a quick fix and often work near where they also buy drugs. Women who prostitute online could be simply looking for "easy money, and there's lots of it," said Lt. Dave Askerlund, who heads the department's new organized crime division, which also will tackle vice. Salt Lake City police say daytime hours, surprisingly, are a popular time to shop for sex.
