Assembly Panel OKs Bill in Fight on Prostitution
A Southland lawmaker’s bill, which would make it easier for police to arrest pimps doing business in public, was passed Tuesday in Sacramento by the Assembly Public Safety Committee.
“We won’t let the pimps turn the ‘Walk of Fame’ into the ‘Walk of Shame,’ ” said Assemblyman Wally Knox, (D-Los Angeles). “Law enforcement must be given the legal means to remove these predators from the streets.”
The measure was passed 6 to 1 and now goes before the Assembly Appropriations Committee, Knox said.
The reason pimps feel free to “set up shop” on street corners is that police cannot arrest them unless they see a crime occur or get information from a prostitute, the lawmaker said.
The bill is modeled after a law that lets police arrest street walkers for “loitering for the intent to commit the crime,” Knox said.
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