Workshop: Vice Meeting


Notes taken by a GAIN member:

VICE Presentation by Detective Harry James
May 25, 2006 – Greenwood Library

The VICE section is made up of 5 officers for the entire city (4 officers and 1 Lieutenant). They are focused on investigating crimes of prostitution (prostitutes, pimps and Johns). This is the minimum number that can exist in a unit to support itself. It covers the entire city but 80% of the unit’s time is spent in the north end of the city.

Call Vice to report license plates!
Report prostitution, report license plates, automobile descriptions and everything else!

Detective Harry James (harry.james@seattle.gov) 684-8662
Detective Ditusa, North Seattle Liaison Officer 684-5589 (Salvatore.ditusa@seattle.gov)

When calling, a VAR (vice activity report) can be requested so that someone reports back, usually within a few days.

How to call 911
“This is not an emergency but I still want a police car.” You have the right to say this and the right to police response.

Calling 911 paints a picture of the neighborhood for police. These service calls determine frequency of patrols and how emphasis patrols may be made by the precinct captain, among other things, and so is an important call to make. 911 calls are not just for immediate emergencies but for suspicious behavior. The police categorize the calls and emergencies will always get immediate attention so there shouldn't’t be the worry that a call is un-worthy of police time.

People have experienced problems with 911 operators. The operators need to know that you are “suspicious” of illegal activity not that you have “probable cause” – that is for the patrol to determine! If you have a problem with an operator mail or call Dianne Newsom at Dianne.newsom@seattle.gov, the community police team supervisor, with the time called, the operator number and case number (which are given when asked for if you have a problem). She has told us that she will correct the operator’s response to calls.

When calling suspicious vice incidents call 911 and call the vice unit. 911 will bring a visible police car and a call to vice will bring detectives out but you will never know about it because they are always undercover.

How effective are SOAP (“stay out of area of prostitution”) orders? And remember, judges are elected.
SOAP (stay out of prostitution) orders are court orders intended to keep prostitution out of SOAP areas, which include all of Aurora Avenue and one block on either side. Seattle city Judges are supposed to review and sign each SOAP order. Some problems include SOAP orders lasting only two weeks. Detective James used a rap sheet printout (redacted) as a graphic presentation of how effective the police are on the street. He says it stretches out 28 feet. The rap sheet documents the arrests and also the over 1000 hours of suspensions given by the court.

Motels
By ordinance motels must see ID, take information with a pen and not pencil and are not supposed to rent for 1 hour. Recently the undercover police officers went to all the motels on Aurora and tried to check into motels using only cash and pencil for short stays. Four motels failed this test and the clerks were arrested!

Drugs and Prostitution, “the victimless crime”
They seem to always go together. According to detective James, prostitution and drug addiction are interrelated. The stories he tells about prostitutes, their life history and their exposure to current violence from both pimps and johns shed a light on the intense problems these women face on a daily basis. In all his years every time detective James has asked what wish the women had, it is always the same: I wish I had never started this and I wish I could go home.