Fighting Prostitution in Neighborhoods - Returning Livability Back to a Community

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

The Prostitution Coordination Team (PCT) was set up in February 2009 as a means of reducing prostitution-related activity through non-traditional services. This program addresses the affected communities’ feeling of hopelessness through the coordinated efforts of multiple county, city, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The PCT has changed the way the prostitution crimes are handled in Multnomah County. In substantially all circumstances, when a defendant is sentenced, the district attorney’s office now recommends probation instead of jail, treatment through Lifeworks New Option of Women (NOW) and no associations with pimps and no presence in high vice areas as conditions of probation. The NOW program was created specifically to help women involved In prostitution by offering mental health services, addition counseling, and mentoring. A first-time offender program was created to introduce women to the NOW program without receiving a conviction and “johns” are required to attend the Sex Buyer Accountability and Diversion Class and stay arrest free for six months. All of these programs are administered and enforced by a deputy district attorney and five members of the local police bureau. In addition, weekly problem solving and case management sessions with law enforcement and NGOs focus on the status, treatment, and progress of each offender.