street walkers

[mankok]

The boys in blue must have been pretty efficient in the Highgate area. Have not seen a single streetwalker for a few years now. What are forum users views on 1. street walking 2. the punters who use these working ladies and 3. prostitution in general. I am not sure what my views are even though I have used prostitutes in the past.

 

[crackerboxpalace]

I have always found it fascinating and confusing that I have never seen a streetwalker in Perth.

I should say that I have no interest in using the services of a streetwalker, but the thing is that I am a night owl and one of my hobbies is night time photography. As a result I am often out and about late at night and early morning finding interesting things to shoot. Despite this I have never seen a streetwalker.

By comparison, I spent a number of years living in London, and there are areas over there where it is virtually impossible not to be approached by a streetwalker!

 

[Naughty Thoughts]

The boys in blue really do enforce the no-streetwalking rules.

Personally, I think it's great a risk for the lady to be out on the street trying to jump into a strangers car. Much safer at an agency where either the client has to come to the building (where there are other people around) or escort to a hotel / house with a driver.

Night photography is great - much better chance to play with light, which is what photography is about.

 

[svengali]

If you pursue your hobby around Highgate/North Perth make sure you carry your camera openly and walk around in the open so the locals can see you are legit.

If you drive slowly around like a typical kerb-crawler you will find blue flashing lights in you rear view mirror before you can say "how much, love?"

The locals had a bellyfull of street hookers when they were around there a few years ago and after the big cleanup most are still pretty toey about it.

 

[Alecia the Foxx]

Out of interest, Svengali, what do you mean when you say the locals had a bellyfull of streetwalkers? What was the problem exactly?

 

[Farm Boy]

Out of interest, Svengali, what do you mean when you say the locals had a bellyfull of streetwalkers? What was the problem exactly?

Something like this

A RECENT escalation in solvent abuse and anti-social behaviour in Highgate streets had made areas of the suburb and its surrounds 'no-go' zones, resident Duncan Mitchell says.

Mr Mitchell said the increase in violence, drunkenness and the number of prostitutes walking the streets over the past few months was appalling and had tarnished Highgate’s appeal as a central place to live with first-rate facilities.

While Town of Vincent chief executive John Giorgi confirmed there had recently been more of these issues in locations along Beaufort Street in the Mt Lawley and Highgate areas, he said there had been no formal complaints made in the past two to three weeks.

He said this compared favourably to about three months ago when there had been up to four complaints a week about anti-social behaviour, alcohol drinking, glue sniffing, harassment of customers and shoplifting.
http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2010/01/20/1225821/816860-prostitute.jpg

 

[Alecia the Foxx]

Something like this

A RECENT escalation in solvent abuse and anti-social behaviour in Highgate streets had made areas of the suburb and its surrounds 'no-go' zones, resident Duncan Mitchell says.

Mr Mitchell said the increase in violence, drunkenness and the number of prostitutes walking the streets over the past few months was appalling and had tarnished Highgate’s appeal as a central place to live with first-rate facilities.

While Town of Vincent chief executive John Giorgi confirmed there had recently been more of these issues in locations along Beaufort Street in the Mt Lawley and Highgate areas, he said there had been no formal complaints made in the past two to three weeks.

He said this compared favourably to about three months ago when there had been up to four complaints a week about anti-social behaviour, alcohol drinking, glue sniffing, harassment of customers and shoplifting.
Link is broken so has been taken down

Wow. Thanks for that. I didn't realise that the only people who abused solvents and drank alcohol were street-walking prostitutes. I will now consider myself educated. NOT!!!!!!

Sounds like pure snobbery to me. Nimby-ism.

 

[svengali]

Wow. Thanks for that. I didn't realise that the only people who abused solvents and drank alcohol were street-walking prostitutes. I will now consider myself educated. NOT!!!!!!

Sounds like pure snobbery to me. Nimby-ism.

Whoa, lady!

Sounds like the tiger struck a nerve there??

In his defence let me point out that he was quoting from the Town C.E.O who is a typical purse-lipped wowser, not offering his own opinion.

However, for once Giorgi was pretty close to the truth (novel experience for him, believe me)

The problem in Highgate was less about the girls and more about the kind of kerb-crawling scumbags who trawled around the area looking for them.

How would you like having carloads of boozed up yobs crawling around your area at all hours of the night with stereos booming fit to wake the dead and raucous voices yelling obscenities?

How would you like to be a young, or not so young lady walking home from work or a night out and having a car pull up alongside you with the driver propositioning you for sex?

How would you like finding used condoms and syringes (yes, some of them are junkies) tossed over your fence for your kids/pets to find?

How would you like to be running a business, particularly a bar or restaurant, in an area with a not entirely undeserved reputation as a "bad place to be at night" ?

At the height of the problem workers cleaning up around the primary school even found a "nest" under one of the older buildings with an old mattress surrounded by a litter of empty goon bags, condoms and syringes. A rung or two below Langtrees, eh?

The Police were finally stirred into action and I have to say they were damned efficient about it. They walked the streets handing out business cards with a mobile 'phone number to all residents and business owners with instructions to call that number if they saw a streetwalker or kerb-crawler. When called, they usually responded within half an hour and moved the offender on. Later, they ran stings using Police women dressed appropriately to target the clients and a couple of dozen were busted with the bonus of having their names and addresses published in the "West" The "name and shame" treatment was the final nail in the coffin. No cusomers, no girls.

That was all a few years ago but the matter is still a touchy one with the locals and streetwalkers or kerb-crawlers operate around Highgate/North Perth at their peril.

 

[steve t]

I go past that area on the way to work and and they are still in the area i saw one jump into car yesteday arvo and one was walking around. it is not as bad as it used to be, if u no what are looking for it is easy to point out, they always give u that 'look' ..NO i dont use them as i would say MOST to all are on drugs and do not look clean..In house for myself.. i think street walkers give other W/Ls a bad name because that is the perception the general public would have."perception is reality"

 

[Rochelle]

Not to be seen doesn't necessarily mean non existent any more. The general 'problem solving' strategy has always been pushing people out of a certain area (cleaning up) only for them to emerge somewhere else.
Sounds like the kerb crawlers are by far more a problem then the streetwalkers.

R.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Alecia the Foxx]

Thanks for your post, Svengali.

Yes, it would and it does suck to be walking home at night and have a bunch of yobbos pull over and proposition you for commercial sex. It's been happening to me for years, since I was 18, and there are no street workers in Hamilton. Never has been. I didn't get into the sex industry until I was much older than 18.

In terms of syringes and used condoms: the syringes could be from other people, as well as W/L's, and yes, the used condoms are from W/L's. The council or the local authority needs to put more public rubbish bins in the area, and step up the public street cleaning in that area. I am assuming you guys have "Needle Exchange" Points? If so, notices placed up on the back wall of the front reception of these places telling the needle users to "keep it considerate" have been very effective over here in getting people not to dump used needles in the street or in schools or on private property.

Yes - a nerve was struck, I abhor nimby-ism. I am not a needle user or a street walker. I am lucky that in my life, I have never had to walk the streets plying my trade, but I would never place myself on such a pedestal as to look down on those ladies who have had the perception that that is what is needed in their lives.

If the above measures outlined are introduced, and others with the same spirit of inclusiveness (as they are just trying to make a living the same as the rest of us), rather than judgment, this will go a long way towards keeping the area more desirable to run a business in.

Thanks

 

[Naughty Thoughts]

...the syringes could be from other people, as well as W/L's...

Another part of the problem is a strong tendency of people to "group" problems together, even if they are unrelated.

I can't remember which city it was (and I'm probably remembering it wrong) but I remember reading about anti-social behaviour, vandalism and street-walkers getting put into one "problem" and demands on the police to "fix it". They did similar treatment to what Svengali said above and the "problems" were "solved"

Of course, critical thinking would tell you that the anti-social behaviour and vandalism was "fixed" by a higher police presence and that the walkers and their clients weren't the ones doing the vandalism. The walkers just happened to be more visible as they would hang around whilst the vandals would show up, do some damage / graffiti and leave.

The three weren't connected, but people confuse cause and effect.

 

[Contrarian]

From today's west.

Man, 70, charged in prostitution crackdownRebecca Trigger, The West Australian November 16, 2012, 10:41 am
Police have charged five people, including a 70-year-old man, aftera crackdown on prostitution in Highgate.

Four men - a 70-year-old from Mt Lawley, a 64-year-old from Bedford, a 50-year-old from Joondanna and a 28-year-old from Booragoon were arrested last night and will be summonsed for seeking a prostitute, a police spokeswoman said.

The crackdown follows a community forum last month where residents recounted stories of harassment, including being propositioned by kerb crawlers, and disturbing levels of violence.

Local Mayor Alannah MacTiernan branded the area "hell on earth" for local women who were approached by johns on their way home.

A 33-year-old woman from Mount Helena was issued a move-on notice under the Prostitution Act and faces four charges of gaining benefit by fraud and two of attempting to gain benefit by fraud.

The men will appear in the Perth Magistrate's Court on December 19 and the woman on December 4.

Police are encouraging residents to call 131 444 to report people actively soliciting clients or prostitutes.

Patrols will continue to target the area, the spokeswoman said.