Prostitution and Other Sexually Related Offences

The Issue

Prostitution and kerb crawling cause nuisance and anti-social behaviour and can lead streets and residential areas into decline. Sexual activity from street sex markets can take place in empty car parks, play grounds and private gardens, and kerb crawling is often a problem in these areas. Residential areas can experience nuisance and disturbance when nearby dwellings are used for prostitution and drug dealing. Other forms of anti social behaviour arising from prostitution can include noisy and abusive altercations between prostitutes and their users, and verbal abuse of prostitutes and local residents.

Litter associated with prostitution can include used condoms, and, where drug dealing is present, dirty needles and other drug paraphernalia. Kerb-crawling increases with street prostitution and often slows down the flow of traffic causing annoyance, nuisance and intimidation to people in the neighbourhood. Prostitute-users will often mistakenly focus their attention on other women passing by, and prostitutes will focus on men who are not potential clients.

During the one-day count of anti-social behaviour carried out in September 2003 (covering kerb crawling, soliciting, prostitutes cards in telephone boxes, discarded condoms and inappropriate sexual acts), 1,099 reports related to prostitution were recorded, suggesting 274,750 reports per year.

In areas where prostitution is taking place people can feel intimidated going about their daily business and will often have their sleep disturbed at night by traffic, noise and commotion. The nuisance has a degenerative effect, making an area unpleasant and unsafe and deterring families and businesses from moving in. The impact on property values and insurance premiums is significant and the cumulative effect of all these factors contributes to a spiral of decline in the area.

Tenancy Agreement

The Tenancy Agreement makes it clear that:

Tenants are responsible for the behaviour of everyone living in or visiting the Property. They must also keep under control any animals living in or visiting the Property. This applies when they are in the Property, in communal areas (stairs, lifts, landings, entrance halls, paved areas, shared gardens and parking areas), on adjacent land and in the locality around the Property.

Tenants, members of the household and visitors must not:

cause or permit a nuisance, annoyance or disturbance to any other person. Examples of nuisance, annoyance or disturbance include:-
loud music; arguing and door slamming; allowing excessive or prolonged dog barking, dog fouling; offensive drunkenness; selling drugs or drug abuse; solvent abuse; rubbish dumping; playing ball games close to someone else’s Property

harass or allow to be harassed any other person. Examples of harassment include:-
racist behaviour or language; using or threatening to use violence; using abusive or insulting graffiti or behaviour; damaging or threatening to damage another persons property or possessions; writing threatening, abusive of insulting graffiti; doing anything that interferes with the peace, comfort or convenience of other people

use or allow the Property to be used for any illegal or immoral purpose including the storage, or possession of /or dealing in stolen property or illegal drugs or the use of illegal drugs and must not deal in drugs in the locality of the Property

damage, deface or put graffiti on Council property. Tenants will have to pay for any repairs or replacements

interfere with security and safety equipment in communal blocks. Doors should not be jammed open and strangers should not be let in without identification.

What can I do?

STEP 1
Depending on how confident you feel - you might consider approaching the person causing the offence and find out whether they realise how it is affecting you. It would be nice to think that if they knew how much offence it was causing that they would stop and apologise. If the problem is too serious for you to confront the perpetrator(s) and they are not willing to stop their behaviour then please contact us| or the Police|.

STEP 2
It is essential that you keep a record of each and every incident and how it is effecting you. This information could be crucial to any legal action. If anyone else is a witness they should also be asked to keep a record and to complain to Gloucester City Homes and Gloucestershire Police.

Follow this link to download our incident log sheet.|

What can Gloucester City Homes / Gloucestershire Constabulary do to help?

There are a range of legal powers available to the Police to tackle prostitution, kerb crawling and other sex-related anti social behaviour. These powers can range from a warning or caution, to a fine, and in some cases to criminal prosecutions and imprisonment.

Where prostitution and kerb crawling is taking place on housing land, Gloucester City Homes and Gloucestershire Constabulary will take enforcement action to protect communities from the nuisance associated with street sex markets and with prostitution and drug dealing in residential properties.

A range of non-legal action will be considered when tackling prostitution and other sex-related anti social behaviour, including:

verbal and written warnings; and
the use of an Acceptable Behaviour Contract.

If the non-legal remedies do not work the following legal action could be taken:

where an offence is commited the perpetrator could be arrested and taken to court and that could lead to prosecution and community service or imprisonment, and could possibly lead to a driving disqualification, for example: kerb crawling is an offence under s1 of the Sexual Offences Act 1985 and s1 of the Powers of the Criminal Courts (sentencing) Act 2000 can disqualify kerb crawlers from driving as part of their sentence
prostitutes’ cautions can be used by the Police
a civil injunction could be obtained under s222 of the Local Government Act 1972 where serious public nuisance is occuring
where the nuisance is persistent and severe an application for an Anti Social Behaviour Order
the closure of premises used for dealing and using class A drugs where there is disorder, under the closure powers in s1-11 of the Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003.

Ultimately, where the behaviour is affecting communities within our nieghbourhoods, and the above non-legal or legal action fails Gloucester City Homes could ask the Courts to grant repossession of a tenants home or the revocation of the lease for leaseholders or shared owners.

As the perpetrator had caused themselves to become homeless it is unlikely that the Council's Housing service would be required to permanently rehouse them. They are more likely to have to find their own suitable alternative accommodation. This would ultimately depend on the circumstances of each case.

Our service standards

We will:

contact you within five working days in non-emergency cases or within one working day in urgent cases. Emergencies should be immediately reported to the police

if necessary, arrange an interview with you within five working days in non-emergency cases or within one working day in urgent cases

discuss the situation and advise you on the options that may be available to help resolve the problem such as mediation, voluntary agreements, legal action

help you keep a detailed diary of events, which will help us gather any evidence needed to take further action

work with you to try to resolve your problem, and explain clearly what is happening at each stage

jointly work with the police and any other agency that may be able to help resolve the problem

consider legal action against any person who continues to behave in an anti-social way, including taking court injunction and possession proceedings, or an Anti-Social Behaviour Order, or supporting criminal prosecutions recommended by the police to the Crown Prosecution Service