POLICE have banned suspected sex fiends from Glasgow city centre as part of a crackdown on prostitution, the Evening Times can today reveal.

 

Fifteen men were arrested for kerb crawling during an eight-week blitz on prostitution in the city centre.

More than 100 offences were detecting throughout the clampdown, including fifteen men allegedly cruising for prostitutes, most in the city's traditional red light areas

As part of the individuals' bail conditions, they have been barred from entering the city centre - including the red light district - until they next appear in court.

Inspector Claire Campbell, who lead the crackdown, said police want to eradicate prostitution from the city by targeting men who buy sex.

She told the Evening Times: "There is no easy solution to the problem of prostitution and as police officers we need to be clear about what we are trying to achieve.

"We recognise the presence of women engaged in prostitution and their clients can cause alarm and annoyance to the communities they frequent.

"But we cannot ignore and address the assortment of different health, social problems and crime, associated with prostitution.

"The physical, emotional and psychological consequences of prostitution can be profound and include rape, sexual assault, depression, addiction, post traumatic stress disorder, self harm and suicide.

"With this in mind our policing activities were not designed to further victimise women engaged in prostitution.

"But instead to try and eradicate prostitution by enforcing legislation aimed at the buyers of sex."

If any of the fifteen men are convicted of kerb crawling, they also face losing their driving licence.

During the eight-week operation, almost 160 people were stopped and spoken to by specialist officers carrying out intelligence-led patrols.

Around 40 fixed penalty notices were issued for anti-social behaviour offences, including street drinking, urinating and breach of the peace.

More than a dozen people were reported to the procurator fiscal for drugs related offences, breaches of bail and road traffic offences.

Nine people were also arrested on apprehension warrants and officers detected total of 36 prostitution offences during the past eight weeks.

Inspector Campbell, from the Greater Glasgow Divisional Violence Reduction Unit, added: "During the operation, officers came into contact with numerous local residents and business owners who all outlined their concerns regarding the negative impact prostitution was having on the local community and their ability to run legitimate businesses.

"They all responded positively to the extra police patrols and activities.

"Anti-social behaviour cuts right at the heart of our local communities.

"We will continue to work in partnership to keep people safe by eradicating the harm caused by prostitution, while robustly dealing with all activities in these red light areas to prevent them from becoming an environment where more serious crime can take hold."

A dedicated unit of officers will continue to work with support project Routes Out, which provides help and support to women looking to escape prostitution.

Police said women who came to the attention of officers during the operation were made aware of the project.