And by several accounts, the tide is turning in favor of residents who were once too frightened to venture outside after dark. Central to the 2-year-old effort to reclaim the streets are a revitalized neighborhood association and a police department that has poured resources into eradicating the sex trade. I feel more comfortable to be driving in the neighborhood or walking to the store.
Nhat V. First St. People head south on S. People head west on Willow St. People head east on Oak St. Back then, transactions were carried out in the driveways of residences and condoms littered the ground outside Washington Elementary School on Oak Street, Fuentes said.
Carrasco also recalled having to explain to her thenyear-old daughter why women were walking the streets dressed in skimpy outfits in the dead of winter. A shooting across the street from the school finally spurred her to attend a meeting to air her grievances. Carrasco instead found herself pressed into service by Fuentes, himself recently appointed by District Attorney Jeff Rosen to coordinate community-based anti-crime efforts in the area.
One countermeasure developed by the neighborhood association is a monthly walk around the neighborhood. Carrasco said it helps build camaraderie while driving away prostitutes and johns. Chief Eddie Garcia said prostitution is far from being a victimless crime, as some critics have alleged, and worthy of the resources that have been dedicated to wiping it out.
Authorities also are doing what they can to help prostitutes who are victims of human trafficking. Statistics provided by the police department support the narrative that things are getting better in the neighborhood. In , prostitution-related incidents were reported, resulting in arrests or citations. Those numbers fell dramatically the following year when 43 incidents were called in and 53 arrests or citations were made.
