Arlington police propose 'exclusion zone' around entertainment district to combat prostitution

BY SUSAN SCHROCK - Fort Worth Star Telegram - June 23, 2010
ARLINGTON -- In an attempt to reduce prostitution-related offenses in an entertainment district that includes top tourist attractions such as Cowboys Stadium and the Texas Rangers' ballpark, Arlington is considering creating an "exclusion zone" to try to keep prostitutes and their customers from frequenting the area.
Police Chief Theron Bowman told the City Council that the ordinance would allow police to arrest individuals who are in the area if they have been convicted of a prostitution-related offense within the past two years unless they are there for a legitimate reason such as going to work, seeing a doctor or meeting with an attorney.
"It's a pretty creative and innovative way to deal with one of the oldest problems on earth," Bowman said.
The proposed zone encompasses an area long considered to be a prostitution hot spot that includes bars, motels and other establishments where the police have attempted to crack down in the past.
The City Council is set to consider the ordinance in August.
If approved, the zone would be in place before the Feb. 6 Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium, when 150,000 to 200,000 visitors are expected in Arlington.
Mayor Robert Cluck said he typically hears increased complaints about sex solicitations on game days at the football and baseball stadiums.
"They know there are going to be people out there who have money," Cluck said.
Other cities, such as Reno, Nev.; Portland, Ore.; and Wichita, Kan., have established similar zones to tackle prostitution, but Arlington would be the first in Texas, Bowman said.
The zone
Arlington police looked at prostitution offenses the past four years and determined that most of them were concentrated in a small area of north Arlington -- generally north of Abram Street around Center Street, Division and Collins streets, and near Texas 360 by Avenue J and Lamar Boulevard, north of Interstate 30.
That area, which surrounds venues such as Cowboys Stadium and Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, attracts a large concentration of residents and tourists, city officials said.
"It's a family-oriented environment. Visible prostitution on the streets could certainly take away from that ambience," said north Arlington Councilman Mel LeBlanc, who represents the entertainment district.
Under the proposal, the city would notify people convicted of the prostitution-related offenses: the prostitutes, their pimps and johns.
Once notified, those people would not be allowed in the exclusion zone for one year and could face arrest for violating the ordinance, a Class C misdemeanor.
To maintain the ordinance's constitutionality, Bowman said that the excluded parties must have a prostitution conviction and must be warned before being arrested, and that the city must review prostitution offenses without the boundaries every three years to determine whether to continue the exclusionary zone.
Bowman said people who have been convicted of a prostitution-related offense, even in other cities, within the past two years will be notified about the exclusionary zone and given a map that shows the boundaries and a list of reasons they would be permitted to visit the area.


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