HO sends message to kerb-crawlers

The Home Office launched a six-week advertising campaign last week to remind kerb-crawlers that the price they pay for sex may be more than they bargained for.

It could cost them their job, their driving licence and a £1,000 fine, the Home Office warned.

The campaign encompasses seven target areas: Middlesbrough, Peterborough, Southampton, London, Bristol, Bournemouth and Leeds. They were chosen because they have shown a commitment to carry out kerb-crawling enforcement activity coupled with strong support services for the women helping them find routes out of prostitution and tackling the issues that led them to the streets in the first place.

The series of adverts will feature on local radio stations and carry warnings that kerb-crawlers could face arrest, a court appearance, warning letters to their home, a £1,000 fine and a driving ban, as well as bringing shame to their family, friends and employers.

Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said: “Local communities are fed up with street prostitution – sexual activity taking place in their parks and playgrounds, condoms and discarded needles littering the streets and innocent women mistakenly targeted and abused by men on the prowl. For the residents it is intimidating, unpleasant and unsafe.

“Kerb-crawlers make a choice when they pay for sex on our streets and I want to make them think twice. This campaign sends a stark warning to them that the price they pay could be more than just financial – it could cost them their livelihood and family.

“We are determined to curb demand and reduce supply and this is best achieved by the police targeting the men involved and working closely with support services to help the women find routes out.”