According to a KXTV Channel 10 news story, certain residential neighborhoods near Stockton Boulevard in Oak Park are complaining about prostitutes setting up shop in front of homes in broad daylight and leaving used condoms in the street. Even the male customers, or “johns,” occasionally soliciting innocent young girls as they walk to or from school. I had no idea that this line of work was still so prevalent in a city like Sacramento. Frankly I’m shocked at these prostitutes and johns being so open about their criminal activity. But Sgt. Norm Leong, Sacramento Police Department spokesman, said prostitution on Broadway and Stockton Boulevard is “nothing new.” “Oak Park has gotten better than it used to be; street drug sales are down,” Leong said. But, “Prostitution has been a problem in that area for years.” Not only does it remain, but it appears to be thriving. Why, after all this time, hasn’t this been cleaned up? “Prostitution is called the “oldest profession’ for a good reason,” Wu said. “So long as there is demand, supply will be there.” As true as this may be, I think a more important reason is there aren’t enough obstacles to conducting the trade. It’s just too easy to be a prostitute. I’m not suggesting that we incarcerate all prostitutes for 20 years, but slapping them on the wrist is not going to have any effect. “Prostitution is a misdemeanor,” Leong said. “Girls get arrested and they are out same day … it’s a revolving door.” But what incentive do we give a prostitute to quit her livelihood? “Many cities use suppression (or) arrest to try to clean out prostitution, only to see sex workers relocate to other places or go underground,” said Bohsiu Wu, professor of sociology. He also said that some European countries, Canadian provinces, and the state of Nevada use a “legalization approach.” So apparently all we can do is chase it around indefinitely, or make it legal? I disagree. If we want to eradicate prostitution in our city, or any city, we need a more insightful form of outreach. These are daughters, sisters and mothers. They deserve better help than what we’re offering.PaulRoundtree can be reached at [email protected]