Unlucky Proposition : City Considers Publicizing Photos of Prostitutes’ Clientele

The Los Angeles City Council endorsed a plan Tuesday to give some television exposure to a bunch of unknowns. But these guys may not want to call mom and ask her to set the VCR.

At the request of Councilman Hal Bernson, the council unanimously supported a plan to use the city’s public access cable channel to broadcast the names and mug shots of men arrested for soliciting prostitutes. The information would also be released to the newspapers.

The idea, he said, is to attack the problem of prostitution by shaming the so-called “Johns” who keep the world’s oldest profession in business.

“There is no reason why we can’t use this as a tool to make our neighborhoods safer,” said Bernson, who represents parts of the northwest San Fernando Valley and heads a council planning panel that has struggled to rid prostitutes from several Valley neighborhoods.

Supporters also praised the proposal because they said it makes men take more responsibility for prostitution.

“I feel as a society it is not fair to blame only women for prostitution,” said Councilman Marvin Braude, who represents a portion of Sepulveda Boulevard in Van Nuys that has been plagued with prostitutes and related crimes.

But the idea is not a new one, and it is not one without legal hurdles.

About 13 years ago, then-City Atty. Ira Reiner distributed lists of prostitution arrestees to the media for print or broadcast. Only two news outlets took up his offer. After a judge prohibited Reiner from releasing the arrestees’ addresses, the campaign died.

After Bernson revived the proposal in April, the city attorney’s office warned that the city could be liable if it publishes names and causes grief for an innocent man who happens to share the name of an arrestee.

Unwilling to back down, Bernson came back Tuesday with a modified proposal to also broadcast and publish the police photos of the arrested men, making any confusion nearly impossible.

But some council members worried that the city would still be liable for publishing and broadcasting the name and photo of an arrestee only to find out later that he has been found innocent of the crime.

Assistant City Atty. Gail Weingard agreed that the city may be liable in such a case.

But Bernson argued that if the media can published photos of celebrities, such as actor Hugh Grant, after they are arrested for soliciting prostitutes, why couldn’t the city do the same for the average Joe, or, John?

“God bless the city attorney,” he said sarcastically. “But the city attorney doesn’t make the laws. We do.”

At the end, the council approved the proposal in concept and voted to ask the Police Department and the city attorney’s office for a report on the feasibility of the plan and the potential liability problems. The reports are expected back in 30 days.