For decades, law enforcement has used loitering laws to justify the arrest of visibly queer, poor, Black, brown, and immigrant women, who are taking up space in public. Some of those arrested may have been soliciting, but many were not.
Loitering laws empower police officers to detain and arrest people for being in certain areas, dressed a certain way, or for talking to other people in public spaces. The intent is to crack down on prostitution, but a lot of the time, police get it wrong. Profiling people
based on race and geographic location, police have arrested many innocent people — on their way to pick up dinner for their family, hailing a cab or
waiting for the bus, on a
night out with their partner, or
simply walking home after work.
Even when police correctly catch people soliciting for prostitution, the arrests and subsequent court fees do nothing to deter future prostitution. They just compel sex workers to take more risks to avoid arrests while working. Arresting people for loitering has never reduced or effectively suppressed the activity. Whatsmore, these arrests have never helped victims of trafficking.