Civic Leaders, Police Unite in Fight Against Prostitution

Twenty-five community leaders and police officials from Van Nuys, Sepulveda and Panorama City joined forces Tuesday to try to rid Sepulveda Boulevard of prostitution.

For months such organizations as the Sepulveda-Panorama Chamber of Commerce and the Van Nuys Homeowners Assn. have been meeting on their own to look for ways to combat the problem. They have circulated petitions and formed small crime-watch groups. A local chamber formed its own action committee.

“I think everyone thought that the problem was just in their particular area,” Suzanne Lombardo of the Sepulveda Home Owners Assn. said. “What we learned today is that it’s all over. And the only way anything is going to get done is if we all unite.”

After listening to police and residents describe the magnitude of the problem for 1 1/2 hours, organization leaders said they will take the information back to their members and call for a community meeting on the issue next month.

Tougher Probation

They said they hope to form committees with local government officials to explore the possibility of toughening the conditions of probation for those convicted of prostitution.

They also will try to involve motel operators, some of whom police said rent to prostitutes, in the cleanup effort.

Prostitution has been a longtime problem along Sepulveda Boulevard, in part because of the 30 motels along the busy thoroughfare, some of which offer day or hourly rates. Los Angeles Police Sgt. Joe Parker, head of the Van Nuys Division’s vice unit, told the group that police expect to make 600 to 700 prostitution arrests in the area this year. In 1984, 460 arrests were made, Parker said.

Recently, residential side streets and apartment building garages off the boulevard have become havens for “street dates,” the slang term that police use for acts of prostitution performed quickly inside a car.

Women Harassed

Residents and merchants in the area have complained for months that practically any woman or girl walking along the boulevard is harassed by men looking for prostitutes. Used condoms frequently litter residential streets. And many people have seen street dates occur in front of their homes or in nearby parking lots.

Police told the group Tuesday that two problem areas along the boulevard have emerged recently: at the boulevard intersections with Tupper and Nordhoff streets in Sepulveda and the intersections with Vose and Hart streets in Van Nuys. Police told residents to report suspicious activity in these areas to police.

“My 14-year-old daughter has gotten propositioned, and she was only crossing the street to go to the store,” said Virginia Hodge, who lives near the boulevard. “And I have gotten harassed just walking home from the bus stop. This meeting today really showed that this is a big neighborhood problem.”

Several residents asked police what their community groups could do to drive prostitution out of the area.

Complicated Problem

Los Angeles Police Capt. Arthur Sjoquist said the problem is complicated and that there are no quick solutions. He said prostitutes and their customers are often back on the street within hours of their arrest. Prostitution is a misdemeanor, and suspects are generally released by posting 10% of their bail, which usually amounts to about $250.

“The trick is to somehow make prostitution an expensive proposition,” Sjoquist said. “The only way to get them off the street is to hit them in the pocket.”