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Sex Laws Info
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The Street Offences Act 1959 contained the provision that it is an offence "for a common prostitute to loiter or solicit in a street or public for the purpose of prostitution". The Act goes on to refer to circumstances where a constable cautions a woman that, if she persists in such conduct, it may result in her being charged with an offence under the Act. Section 16 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 amends section 1(1) of the Street Offences Act 1959 to create an offence for a person (whether male or female) persistently to loiter or solicit in a street or public place for the purposes of offering services as a prostitute. This is with effect from 1 April 2010. The term "common prostitute" has now been removed.
Section 1(4) has been amended to insert that for the purposes of section 1, conduct is persistent if it takes place on two or more occasions in any period of three months.
Section 1(5) provides that in deciding whether a person's conduct is persistent, any conduct that took place before the commencement of this section will be disregarded.
To demonstrate "persistence" under the amended legislation, two officers would need to witness the activity and administer the non statutory "prostitutes caution". This caution differs from ordinary police cautions in that the behaviour leading to a caution may not itself be evidence of a criminal offence and there is no requirement for a man or woman to admit guilt before being given a prostitutes caution.
Details of these "prostitutes cautions" are recorded at the local police station. Insertion of the word "persistently" provides opportunities for the police to direct that individual to non criminal justice interventions to help address the issues that may have caused them to enter prostitution and to ultimately find routes out. A girl would have the opportunity (but not be required) to attend a police station to speak to a female officer, who could make the arrangements for this.
Details of these "prostitutes cautions" are recorded at the local police station. However there are two respects in which prostitutes cautions differ from ordinary police cautions:
- The behaviour leading to a caution may not itself be evidence of a criminal offence for which the prostitute could be prosecuted
- There is no requirement for a woman to admit guilt before she may be given a "prostitutes caution", unlike an ordinary police caution
Note: Although we mainly use the terms "girl" and “woman”, the matter is non-gender specific.
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Last Updated on Friday, 02 April 2010 23:56 |
Sex Laws Info 