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Online prostitution associated with advertising erotic services with the help of such Internet sites as Craigslist.com and Backpage.com can be discussed as an important community problem typical for the state of Florida. In spite of its complex character, the immediate problem was effectively solved through such a law enforcement initiative as the S.T.O.P. (“Stop The Online Prostitution”) operation in 2009.
Thus, S.T.O.P., as a state’s law enforcement initiative, was designed to realize a series of arrests connected with the issue of online prostitution in Florida. The success of the operation and the necessity to provide the complex solution to the problem made the state authorities focus more on developing other law enforcement initiatives to address online prostitution and repeat the success of the S.T.O.P. operation in 2009.
To understand the role of this law enforcement initiative for the community’s stability, it is necessary to refer to the general idea of law enforcement initiatives and to Florida’s laws related to such crimes as prostitution. Law enforcement initiatives are usually the community-based programs and strategies which are promoted by the government and focused on reducing a certain types of crimes in the community, district, or state (Conser, Paynich, & Gingerich, 2011, p. 28). According to the state’s law, prostitution in Florida is defined as “the giving or receiving of the body for sexual activity for hire but excludes sexual activity between spouses” (The 2014 Florida Statutes, 2014).
Therefore, it is unlawful to “offer to commit, or to commit, or to engage in, prostitution, lewdness, or assignation” and “to aid, abet, or participate in any of the acts or things enumerated in this subsection” (The 2014 Florida Statutes, 2014). Prostitution related crimes are the reality in Florida because of the activities of such websites as Craigslist.com and Backpage.com which propose the lists of erotic services in the form of online advertisements.
Craigslist.com and Backpage.com are the largest websites which provide the space for free advertisements classified as “adult services”. These websites are discussed as the threat to the communities’ activities in Florida because of indirectly supporting online prostitution in the United States (Volusia County, Sheriff’s Office, 2009).
It is rather difficult to address the problem of online prostitution in the United States because, using the Internet, almost any person can offer and promote sex services anonymously. Referring to the provided anonymity, prostitutes can avoid law enforcement while contributing to increasing the rates of sex crimes in Florida and other states of the country.
The S.T.O.P. operation is a law enforcement initiative which was developed in 2009 in order “to catch prostitutes, who use popular websites to advertise services” (Volusia County, Sheriff’s Office, 2009). Thus, the operation was oriented to reduce prostitution in Florida while realizing a series of arrests in the state. The S.T.O.P. operation was composed of two stages. The first stage was based on the monitoring of such websites as Craigslist.com and Backpage.com in order to disclose advertisements proposing the erotic services and promoting prostitution (Volusia County, Sheriff’s Office, 2009). The monitoring was realized by policemen and representatives of the public organizations within the community.
The second stage was composed of arrests of prostitutes and their accomplices. Before starting the final stage of the operation, those detectives who participated in the program made calls using different phone numbers which were advertised online. Having set the dates with prostitutes, the group started the final stage of the program.
Arrests were realized by detectives when suspects agreed to offer sex services for the stated payment (Volusia County, Sheriff’s Office, 2009). The operation ended with 55 arrests in different counties of Florida. Furthermore, the law enforcement initiative was realized with the support of the Drug Enforcement Team, and several prostitutes were charged with possession of drugs.
The S.T.O.P. operation can be discussed as an effective example of the law enforcement initiative developed and supported in order to contribute to the communities’ stability in the state of Florida. The purpose of the law enforcement program was to reduce rates of online prostitution in Florida, and a series of arrests was reported as good results for starting the wide program oriented to addressing the issue of online prostitution in all the counties of the United States.
References
Conser, J., Paynich, R., & Gingerich, T. (2011). Law Enforcement in the United States. New York, NY: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
The 2014 Florida Statutes. (2014). Web.
Volusia County, Sheriff’s Office: Sex crimes task forces – Net 55 arrests. (2009). Web.
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