Prostitute convictions treble in year after red-light tolerance zone axed

Published on Tuesday 18 November 2008 21:22

THE number of prostitutes convicted for soliciting in the centre of Aberdeen has trebled since the city's unique toleration zone for sex workers in the harbour's red-light area was scrapped a year ago, it was revealed yesterday.

The women have been forced to ply their trade on Union Street, the city's main shopping thoroughfare, as well as nearby streets – increasing the risks they face.

Yesterday Grampian Police said the rise in city-centre convictions mirrored a "migration" of the sex industry away from the harbour towards the city centre since the tolerance zone was scrapped.

Aberdeen was left as the only city in Scotland still operating a toleration zone for prostitutes, following the collapse of Edinburgh's scheme, centred on Leith, six years ago.

But the city council and Grampian Police were forced to abandon the scheme following the introduction of new laws aimed at cracking down on kerb crawlers.

Councillor Martin Greig, the chairman of the Aberdeen Community Safety Partnership, said: "It is clear there has been a substantial increase in the levels of prostitution in the Union Street area and surrounding streets.

"The soliciting that is happening now has become much more intrusive. And there has been a significant rise in the number of complaints from members of the public about being propositioned by prostitutes offering their services in the Union Street and Market Street areas. Lanes off Union Street are being frequented by prostitutes and used for these illegal purposes."

He said: "This is exactly what we feared would happen when the management zone was scrapped.

"We referred to the area as a management rather than a tolerance zone, because we were managing and containing a specific problem that we were stuck with. One of the key roles of the management zone was to provide a relatively safe environment for the women.

"Now, of course, they are dispersed and the support services, including drug action team workers, are finding it more difficult to find the women. It is a very worrying situation."

Grampian Police said that convictions for soliciting in the city centre had trebled since the tolerance zone was scrapped. Six women were convicted in the area between April and October last year. Between January and July, 18 women were convicted of soliciting.

Inspector John Soutar, who is in charge of the general inquiries department covering the city centre, said it was impossible to estimate how many prostitutes were now operating in the Union Street area.

He said: "There are still some girls operating in the area of the old management zone, but there is a definite migration of a number towards the city centre. And we are encountering all the associated difficulties that you get with that – petty robberies and so on."

Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice secretary, defended the introduction of the new legislation. He said it had been "perverse" that women could be prosecuted for soliciting, while there was no sanction against kerb-crawling men.

And Mr MacAskill added: "This is a law for all of Scotland, not simply for Aberdeen."