Maryland criminal attorney, Colleen Kirby, wrote this post. Colleen clerked for the Honorable Joseph F. Murphy who sits on the Maryland Court of Appeals. She is a former Assistant State's Attorney in Howard County. Colleen attended University of Baltimore School of Law, where she remained in the top 20% of her class. Colleen is currently a private attorney representing clients facing Maryland DUI and other criminal charges.

As reported in Baltimore news, Howard County vice detectives arrested 17 men in an operation near the intersection of routes 1 and 175 in Jessup. "Police said they are hoping their presence in the area will help cut down prostitution -- if not stop the problem all together."

I personally cannot think of a bigger waste of police resources and tax dollars. While there are inherent problems and dangers with prostitution, the Howard County Police Department plans to "stop the problem all together." As a criminal defense lawyer, I would like to know how one police department is going to put an end to an activity that has been taking place for hundreds of years. And does anyone see the foolishness in targeting the "Johns?" As long as women are walking the streets, men will be attracted to the area.

The amount of time, effort, and manpower that is put into these stings is shocking. A large number of officers are selected to participate in these stings. A written plan is drafted by Vice Detectives and all participating officers are briefed on the procedure. Female officers are instructed to "dress the part" and are equipped with a hidden microphone. On the other end of that microphone is a detective who listens in to her end of all conversations. He is then able to radio to the MANY undercover officers set up in the area. These officers are paid to dress undercover and patrol the parking lot in the event they are needed for backup. Further, the Howard County Police Department rents rooms at the Red Roof Motel where more officers sit and wait to take down the suspects. The idea is to get the "John" to agree to a specific amount of money for specific sexual acts and then lead him into the hotel room, where they are surprised by Howard County Police lying in wait. There is no requirement that money actually be exchanged.

When it comes to prosecution, the Howard County State's Attorney's Office formerly did not seek convictions. Instead, the cases were placed on the stet docket with the condition that the defendant complete an HIV awareness class. It was only until enough citizens complained that the elected State's Attorney, Dario Broccolino decided that all viable prostitution cases must be prosecuted. Now, defendants face a criminal conviction on their record, incarceration, a fine, and possible immigration consequences. So the police spend the money putting together the operation, paying the officers overtime, renting hotel rooms, and making arrests. The County spends the money educating the officers on how to properly charge the crime and taking cases to trial. Doesn't the county have bigger issues to spend its time and resources on? According to the Police Department and the State's Attorney's Office - the answer is NO! They will conduct the same operation, in the same location, every few months to "stop the problem all together." Good luck!