Santa Ana police to begin posting names, photos of those arrested and charged with prostitution related offenses

People arrested in Santa Ana on suspicion of prostitution-related crimes will soon get some unwanted publicity, as police prepare to unveil a website naming and shaming those believed to be involved in the sex trade.

Beginning Monday, the names and booking photos of individuals arrested and charged with “prostitution related offenses,” will adorn a new website run by the Santa Ana Police Department. The individual postings will stay online for 15 days before being removed, according to the department.

For several years, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office has posted the photos of so-called “johns” convicted of purchasing prostitutes. But the new, police-run Santa Ana website will apparently go further by identifying people arrested prior to a conviction, and by also including suspected pimps and prostitutes.

Santa Ana has long been a hub for prostitution-related activity, particularly along the busy Harbor Boulevard corridor. Police say that over the past year they made more than 300 arrests for prostitution-related crimes. But Santa Ana Police Chief David Valentin, in announcing the new web page, acknowledged that “enforcement alone” was not enough to stop the illicit activity.

“The city is evaluating traffic mitigation options, increased community engagement, the use of enhanced undercover surveillance and enforcement operations as part of our overall strategy to decrease the negative effects these crimes have on our community,” the chief said in a statement. “Publicly posting the photos and identities of individuals arrested and charged with prostitution related offenses is another step the city and the department are taking to curtail this criminal conduct and enhance the quality of life in our neighborhoods.”

Over the past decade, local law enforcement has undergone a philosophical sea-change, largely viewing those picked up for taking part in prostitution as victims forced into a risky lifestyle by difficult circumstances and manipulation rather than criminals.

At the same time, police and prosecutors have stepped up efforts to target pimps – often describing them as human traffickers and modern-day slave owners – and have shone a public spotlight on sex purchasers in order to dry up the demand that drives prostitution ecosystem

In posting pictures of sex purchasers – either suspected or convicted – law enforcement agencies have often pointed to the prospect of public embarrassment as a tool in dissuading those who would seek out prostitutes.

“I’m happy to see that the solicitors who’ve kept this industry alive for decades, will finally be made public for their friends, family, neighbors, employers, and spouses to see. It’s their cross to bear and its time we put the safety and concern of Santa Ana residents first,” Santa Ana Councilman said in a statement David Penaloza.

Santa Ana Councilman Jose Solorio described the city’s new website as an active stand to combat complacency regarding “human trafficking activity.”

“Our residents are tired of seeing the impacts that often encroach on neighborhoods and their children exposed to seeing the street activity,” Solorio said. “Community leaders are also very concerned about the young ladies that are victims of human trafficking and we want more of them rescued.”

“We know this initiative isn’t a silver bullet, but we want the pimps and johns to stop coming to Santa Ana,” the councilman added.

Melissa Farley, a research psychologist and founder of the San Francisco-based non-profit Prostitution Research and Education, said in her experience the most effective way to stop prostitution is to arrest “sex buyers” or to make them more publicly visible.

“I feel for these guys who are embarrassed and ashamed. That is too bad,” Farley said. “However, in the scale of all the crimes and harms and human rights violations committed in the sex trade, the embarrassment and shame of the sex buyer is way down on my list.”

Nearly five years after it went online, the DA’s “Sex Purchasers” website is still being updated, and currently includes more than 100 photos depicting embarrassed or defiant convicted men. A year after the DA began listing them, the city of Anaheim – the only city in the county to prosecute its own misdemeanors – also considered posting the names of anyone convicted of soliciting a prostituted, but such a list is not currently available on the city website.