Johns are flocking to the Web to avoid getting busted by the cops.
On the streets of San Francisco cops and johns play a never-ending game of cat and mouse. Cops find it especially hard to nab the regulars who know the decoys and recognize the undercover cop cars. And now, as "Tech Live" reports tonight, the Web is making it even harder for cops to bust johns.
"It seems like there's a whole subculture of regulars. They talk on the Internet. They know we're out here," says undercover inspector Z of the San Francisco Police Department. Z didn't want his name published. "It seems like they adjust their hours to the hours that we work, so they come out when we're not working."
Dodging cops
SFRedBook.com is an online gathering place for johns. Message boards on the site let them exchange information about police sting operations. They use code to communicate about the location of decoy prostitutes -- officers clad in streetwalker garb.
On the website they use the term LE to warn of "law enforcement," and they warn each other of areas to avoid.
The site is definitely a help to those seeking sex, but it could pose a danger for decoy officers who try to bust johns.
In the line of fire
Officer Sue R., an 18-year veteran on the force who asked us not to use her real name, says knowing that her description is on SFRedBook makes her job a little more unnerving.
"Someone I busted might feel that I ruined their life," she says. "Knowing where I am on the street, they could come down and look for payback."
Z says the men who get arrested can act crazy. "Some of the johns see their lives pass before their eyes. Some of the guys are married, have families. They'll do anything not to go to jail."
But it's not just the safety of the officers that concerns the SF vice squad. The Web-based warnings also put a dent in arrests.
"If we have a sting operation, the regulars will cruise around and they know it, they know what our cars look like and what our decoys look like," Z says. "Then they'll go back and communicate that on the website. It puts our decoys in danger because people know they're out there."
Comparing notes
The site isn't just about evading cops. Regulars to the message boards exchange information about the women on the street. They review each girl's service and prices.
Here's how one series of posts reads:
"Lisa has to be one of the most fit providers I have ever seen in the TL [Tenderloin district]. I've never seen her smoke or under the influence of anything, so I guess her only vice really is her work. Hope she stays that way. She doesn't seem like the type of girl you'd typically meet on the street. Real classy."
"I agree, she is a clean kid. Her service is a bit clinical but otherwise, she is a dream come true. Her service style will have to improve if she ever wants to move up to become a well respected escort and she will eventually figure that one out herself but for the streets she is a gem...."
More of the same
SFRedBook isn't the only site helping johns find prostitutes.
Eros.com is a slightly different take on the oldest profession. It lists "escorts" by geographical area.
Other chat rooms and private message boards online provide additional covert environments for johns to discuss the finer points of picking up prostitutes.
Police officers say they monitor the sites, but there's nothing they can do about what gets posted on them.
Z summarizes the police perception of such sites: "They just make our jobs harder."
By Becky Worley, Tech Live
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