Andrew Seymour, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Ottawa police will soon begin to send letters to the homes of anyone caught cruising the streets for prostitutes. Police liken the letters to a public service announcement. Civil liberties groups, however, call the practice inflammatory and say it’s not the job of police to ‘enforce morality.’
Ottawa police Supt. Gilles Larochelle, holding an example of a letter that will be sent to people identified picking up a prostitute, found in the company of a prostitute or frequenting known prostitution areas, says police aren’t trying to ‘shame’ people. ‘People are accountable for their actions,’ he said. ‘This letter will hold them accountable.’
Anyone caught trawling Ottawa’s streets for prostitutes will soon have a letter sent to their home by police telling them to stay out of those neighbourhoods while also warning of the dangers of the sex trade.
Starting next week, Ottawa police will start sending out “community safety” letters that include the time, date and location the recipient was observed by officers in areas known to be frequented by prostitutes.
In addition to detailing the potential health hazards associated with street prostitution, such as HIV and hepatitis, the letter explains the harm it causes to the community and asks the recipient to “do your part” by “refraining from bringing your vehicle into this area unnecessarily.”
“I view this letter as a public service announcement,” said Ottawa police Supt. Gilles Larochelle yesterday. “It is clearly informing the individual that he is to keep away from areas frequented by sex trade workers.”
Police are following the lead of at least two other major Canadian cities — Edmonton and Vancouver — that send, or at one time sent, similar letters to men suspected of visiting street prostitutes.
But civil liberties groups have slammed the “Dear John” letters, suggesting the strategy is unnecessary, especially considering that the people who receive the letters have not been charged with any crime.
“Sending letters to suspects’ houses is inflammatory and certainly disproportionate to any benefits associated with the charge and infringes privacy,” said B.C. Civil Liberties Association president Jason Gratl, whose group opposed the introduction of a similar letter in Vancouver eight years ago.
In 2002, the association’s opposition was recognized by B.C.’s freedom of information and privacy commissioner, David Loukidelis, who said the controversial practice of sending letters to people’s homes — while legal — was an “over-intrusive practice.”
Although they continued sending the letters at the time, Vancouver police said they have since terminated the program.
“If the objective is to deter the individual, they can do so orally or hand out a Dear John letter at the time they are collecting the information,” said Mr. Gratl, who also questioned whether police have the right to tell people where they can and can’t travel.
“It seems entirely unnecessary and potentially socially catastrophic for johns, or attempted johns, or someone in the wrong place at the wrong time, to receive such a letter to their home where it could be opened by their spouse or children.”
Jack MacKinnon, president of the National Capital Region Civil Liberties Association, said he also worries about the consequences of a letter ending up in the wrong hands. He doesn’t understand why police need to send a letter when a conversation should suffice.
“I don’t know if the police should be in the business of breaking up marriages,” he said. “I don’t think the police have the job of enforcing morality.”
But Ottawa police maintain the intent of the program is to address community concerns and educate sex trade consumers about the connection to the drugs, particularly crack cocaine, and its negative impact on neighbourhoods such as Hintonburg, Vanier, Lowertown and Centretown.
“It’s the police’s place to provide safety and security to the community,” said Supt. Larochelle, adding the project is expected to run for a year before being re-evaluated.
“The letter clearly states their actions are a risk to the safety of the community.”
It is not meant to “shame” or “embarrass” anyone, said Supt. Larochelle.
“This letter is meant for the individual who drove the vehicle. It is not meant for the owner of the vehicle or a member of the family,” he said, adding he was “not comfortable” sending letters to the registered owners of vehicles for that reason.
Letters will be sent to men who are identified while picking up a prostitute or found in the company of a prostitute. They will also be sent to those who police identify as continually stopping and talking to prostitutes or continually driving around neighbourhoods prostitutes are known to frequent, said Supt. Larochelle.
Unlike Edmonton police, who send letters to the registered owners of vehicles based on calls from the public, Ottawa police will only send letters to people identified and investigated by police officers, he said.
Supt. Larochelle said the letters will not be sent to the homes of men who are criminally charged with solicitation or who are caught in a police sting and qualify for the pre-charge diversion program known as John school.
“People are accountable for their actions. This letter will hold them accountable,” he said.
The program is receiving praise from community groups who are fed up with street prostitution and open drug use around their homes.
“(The johns) fuel the drug trade. They are the starting money. The prostitutes need the money from them to buy the drugs,” said Cheryl Parrott of the Hintonburg Community Association.
Ms. Parrott said the community welcomes any initiative that could help discourage johns from coming into their neighbourhood.
“There’s nothing worse than standing at the school bus stop with your kid and there is a squishy condom there,” said Ms. Parrott. “They impact everyone who lives here. The school kids, the parents, the families, the businesses. They impact all of us for a cheap thrill.”
Staff Sgt. Bill Spinks of the Edmonton police vice squad said he believes the letters have successfully deterred johns from visiting high prostitution areas in that city.
“We’ve never had a repeat customer, so I guess that is a sign that it is working,” said Staff Sgt. Spinks, who admitted the true value of the letters was hard to measure.
He said Edmonton’s letter campaign is part of their “Report-a-John” program, which allows members of the public to call in information about vehicles they see in high prostitution areas. A criminal analyst then reviews the information as part of a series of “checks and balances” to prevent abuse of the system, he said.
Once police are satisfied the information is reliable, Staff Sgt. Spinks sends the letter. They have only had to retract one letter after the person who received it was “adamant” it wasn’t him, he said.
Edmonton police Insp. Brian Nowlan said police have sent the letters for more than a decade, although the program was only expanded to allow the public to report johns in June 2006.
Staff Sgt. Spinks said Edmonton police have few concerns about whether a wife, family member or employer ultimately receives the letter.
“If you want to take the risk of driving your wife’s car down there, then your wife will get the letter,” he said. “She should know if you are having sex with a prostitute down in those areas. The health information outweighs the not knowing.”
But one group representing Canadian sex workers believes the Ottawa police measure will be “fool’s gold” for community associations, since there is no hard evidence the letters actually reduce the volume of street prostitution.
“The police are supposed to investigate crimes. They are not supposed to act like grandmothers handing out a moral shaming,” said Valerie Scott, of the Toronto-based advocacy group Sex Professionals of Canada.
Ms. Scott said she doubts the tactic will work.
“Sex and money are more powerful than any police force or government in history,” she said, adding any short-term success might actually put sex workers at greater risk as they compete for fewer clients.
The letter campaign is one of several new police strategies aimed at cleaning up drug use and prostitution on Ottawa’s streets.
Police are forming an eight-officer street crime team to specifically target street prostitution and drug crimes, particularly crack cocaine dealers and users in downtown neighbourhoods. The team will be made up of officers from the central east and central west neighbourhood sections. Police are currently in the process of selecting and training the officers, Supt. Larochelle said.
As of yesterday, six officers also started walking the beat on downtown streets such as Wellington, Rideau, Bank and Elgin, in an effort to be more visible and combat street crime.
aseymour@thecitizen.canwest.com