61 Are Arrested in Prostitution Sweep

Police arrested 61 people on sex charges in Hollywood over the weekend during a sweep spurred by complaints from neighborhood residents and merchants that the arrival of warmer weather had brought with it an increase in prostitution.

Vice officers booked 42 men and 13 women on charges of prostitution at a special command post set up behind the Hollywood police station, said Sgt. Brad Berman.

“It always starts to build up in the spring and keeps going all the way to September,” said Berman. “Everybody’s kind of testing the waters, trying to see if we’re still enforcing.”

A special task force, responding to numerous complaints from local business owners and residents about increasing prostitution, swept through the area between 5 p.m. Friday and 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning, said Berman.

Besides the 55 prostitution arrests, six people were booked on charges of lewd conduct for allegedly performing sex acts in public.

Berman said the task force will continue to monitor activity in the area.

“It’s like a lot of crimes based on weather,” he said. “And the more activity we have, the more enforcement it is going to take.”

Officers also arrested one person during the sweep for interfering with police when he tried to warn prostitution suspects that undercover officers were in the area, Berman said.