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   Prostitution laws 'confused and incoherent'
Baroness Stern calls on the government to ensure that law enforcement tackles "the exploitation and trafficking" at the heart of prostitution. Following the conviction of Stephen Griffiths for murdering three street prostitutes in Bradford in 2010, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) called for a review of the laws on prostitution. Detective chief constable Simon Byrne, who leads for ACPO on this topic, said: "We'd be keen for a dialogue to see if there's a better way of managing the problem – be it ideas around criminalising some parts of it and not others. I think it's time for that debate." It is widely agreed that priorities for dealing with prostitution should be the detection and prosecution of those engaged in exploitation and trafficking, the protection of those working in prostitution and the well-being of the local community. Yet the current confused and incoherent law does not achieve these objectives. The law that designates a brothel as being a place where more than one woman uses the premises for the purposes of prostitution drives prostitutes from the relative safety of premises to the street, which is much more dangerous. Anti-Social Behaviour Orders are being used to drive prostitutes from areas they know to places far away where the risks will be greater. The government is reviewing the law on prostitution and it is to be hoped that an approach can be developed which puts safety at its heart, makes it easier for women and men working in prostitution to find a route out, and ensures the law enforcement efforts go into tackling the exploitation and trafficking which causes so much suffering. Baroness Sternwas the director of crime reduction charity NACRO from 1977-96 and was raised to the peerage in 1999 Source: epolitix.com Copyright: Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd
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