An uptick in street prostitution challenges Seattle's progressive policies

In a marked departure from the city of Seattle’s approach to dealing with street prostitution the past seven years, Seattle police officers this summer returned to routinely arresting and booking sex workers on Aurora Avenue in North Seattle.

While the city has publicly and proudly pursued the “demand” side of the sex trade — those purchasing sex — the City Attorney’s Office and the Seattle Police Department since 2012 have mostly shied away from booking the sex workers themselves, directing them instead to services.

Despite some criticism, the city has stood by the approach, known as the “Nordic model,” as a progressive alternative to the old way of addressing prostitution. But in the face of a sharp spike in the amount of street-based sex work, service providers exceeding their capacity and intense pressure from North Seattle residents and businesses, the Seattle Police Department began moving away from the Nordic model last July — at least temporarily.

“We’ve had to look at this differently than what our approach has been traditionally in the last few years, which has been a victim-first, trauma-informed type of approach,” said Capt. Mike Edwards, head of SPD’s High Risk Victims Unit.

Read more: https://www.hcn.org/articles/justice-an-uptick-in-street-prostitution-challenges-seattles-progressive-policies
(High Country News)