Some say prostitution is the oldest profession in the world, and for Eugene, it’s a problem that is arising again.
“Streetwalkers became a problem in Eugene during the late 1970s, but was almost eradicated by a sweep of the Broadway and West Eighth area,” said Lt. Pete Kerns, of the Eugene Police Department.
During the mid-80s, prostitutes returned to the area near Sixth and Seventh Avenues, causing traffic problems when potential clients, called “Johns”, stopped to solicit women.
And the problem has returned, now plaguing the West Jefferson area. According to Kerns, prostitutes walk up and down Eighth Avenue, while Johns drive around the block repeatedly until they make contact with a woman.
Most of the women, approximately 35, have been arrested repeatedly. The majority of them, according to Kerns, are IV drug users, specifically heroin. The problem has been found to occur in the same areas where drug use problems persist, including the West Jefferson neighborhood.
In order to address the mounting problem, the Eugene Police Commission forwarded several recommendations to the City Council, including a proposed cruising and prostitution free-zone. City Council will be holding a public hearing July 10th in the Council Chambers.
The proposed zone, in which convicted prostitutes and Johns could be prohibited from entering for as long as a year, is similar to a Portland ordinance the Oregon Supreme Court is scheduled to address later this summer.
A Portland woman, who was convicted of prostitution and ordered not to enter the city’s prostitution-free zone for 90 days, brought her appeal before the Oregon Supreme Court, arguing the exclusion placed her in double jeopardy — that it punished her for the same crime twice.
If the City Council approves the zone as proposed by the Police Commission, individuals arrested for prostitution or soliciting prostitution would be issued an order, excluding them from the area until appearing before a judge for a hearing. At the hearing, the judge would consider extenuating circumstances and either drop or enforce the exclusion from the zone, which could last up to a year.
In conjunction with the prostitution-free zone, police would implement an “anti-cruising district,” which would be moved to areas prone to prostitution. The names and identities of men arrested for soliciting prostitutes could possibly be published in the paper, as well as on the Eugene Police Department’s Web site.
“Punishment for convicted prostitutes isn’t really punishment, it’s help,” Commissioner Pat Farr said, referring to the possibility of a state-mandated drug treatment program for convicted prostitutes.
“The women who I believe are the victims will be provided with treatment,” Mayor Jim Torrey said, backing up the idea that treatment, not punishment, would be more effective.
In support, Portland police officers say the prostitution-free zone has been successful in Portland on cutting down the city’s flesh trade, and could also be successful in Eugene.
“Street-level prostitution tends to congregate around certain areas,” Larry Kochever, captain of the Portland Police Department’s drug and vice division, said. “Prostitution-free zones attack the foundation of prostitution by literally running the trade off the streets.”
“It’s not an absolute solution, but we’re moving in the right direction,” Commissioner Gary Pape said.