Ryan Haggerty, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
MILWAUKEE — A 22-year-old man wearing a black security guard’s uniform walked down a busy street on the near west side Thursday afternoon, glancing nervously at a blond woman dressed in jeans and a dark sweat shirt as she meandered up and down the block.
The man stopped to chat, shifting his eyes from the woman to the sidewalk to the traffic zipping past.
After a few minutes, just as the man seemed to become more comfortable, an unmarked squad car flew around a corner and screeched to a halt in front of the man and woman.
Within seconds, the man was handcuffed and sitting in the back of the car, arrested for soliciting a prostitute -- or, in this case, an undercover Milwaukee police officer posing as a prostitute.
The woman had signaled to nearby officers to make the arrest as soon as the man offered to pay her for sex.
A search of the man’s backpack revealed that he was carrying two items: a Bible and a list of goals for his Bible study group.
“Some of the guys we pick up, you’d be surprised,” said Lt. Joe Erwin, who supervises the prostitution and gambling unit of the Milwaukee police Vice Control Division.
Police arrested 48 suspected prostitutes and johns during a four-day sting on the near west side last week, with many of the arrests occurring in the middle of the afternoon along major thoroughfares, Erwin said.
Although members of the Vice Control Division target prostitution across the city, the unit occasionally teams with district officers to conduct stings in specific problem areas, he said.
“Obviously, there are other things that need to be dealt with, not just (prostitution),” Erwin said, standing outside a van in which arrested prostitutes and johns waited to be driven downtown for booking. “It helps to have some extra bodies to get the message across and crack down on certain areas . . . . We have to stay on top of (prostitution), because of the other crimes that are associated with it.”
Much of the street-level prostitution in Milwaukee is fueled by drugs, especially crack cocaine, Erwin said.
Female addicts, often lacking a formal education or job training, turn to prostitution to support their drug habits. Most charge just enough to pay for their next high and some occasionally rob unsuspecting johns, Erwin said.
The prostitutes help keep drug houses in business, while men looking for cheap sex quickly learn where to look for women, Erwin said.
Before long, the cycle of prostitution and drug use erodes a neighborhood’s quality of life, said Ald. Bob Bauman.
Prostitution “is a sign that a neighborhood is fundamentally blighted,” Bauman said. “Prostitutes feel comfortable plying their trade in the neighborhood, which suggests that, in their mind, the neighborhood is not strong. People looking for their services feel comfortable because they think nobody cares.”
The business of prostitution is often conducted in public view. Thursday afternoon, an undercover officer shared a corner with a prostitute, only a few blocks from schools, renovated businesses and bed-and-breakfasts.
By the time the undercover officer was able to alert other officers that the woman was a prostitute, she had drifted out of sight.
“It’s not victimless,” said Bob Greene of the Merrill Park Neighborhood Association. “They throw the prophylactics out the window. Think about if your kid was playing out in the street or in the alley and seeing that.”
In addition to arresting johns, police involved in last week’s sting arrested women working as prostitutes who offered sex to undercover male officers.
A person who offers to have sexual contact in exchange for an item of value -- including drugs -- may be charged with a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to nine months incarceration and a fine of up to $10,000.
Known prostitutes or people who approach motorists or pedestrians in areas known for prostitution can be issued city tickets for prostitution-related loitering, even if they do not complete a deal for sexual contact, Erwin said.
Stings will never eliminate prostitution, but they can help residents take control of their neighborhood, Erwin said.
“You hope you’re planting a seed,” he said. “Maybe somebody who was thinking about stopping (to pick up a prostitute) will say, ‘Nah, I’m going to keep going.’ ”
Copyright 2008 The Milwaukke Journal Sentinel