I'm Not Alone!

J, who used to be my upstairs neighbour just mailed me the following article which appeared in the local paper while I was away.

It seems that I am not alone in being teh neighbour of teh hoors... perhaps I should keep my eye out for similar blogs in my city! :D

Placenames have been changed... to protect the, um. City reputation (?)

"POLICE IN CRACKDOWN ON RENTED FLATS USED BY CITY'S PROSTITUTES


16:00 - 21 August 2004


Police have launched a crackdown on brothels in The Grey Toon.

Letters have been sent to solicitors and letting agents after police found people are letting properties for themselves then sub-letting them to prostitutes. Two women have been reported to the procurator fiscal as a result of the crackdown.

Three addresses were given in the Hardgate and Union Grove area of the city, where flats were being sub-let to prostitutes who were using them as brothels.

Grampian Police's Detective Chief Inspector Eric Leslie said: "As a result of this information we found that people are renting properties, which they themselves are leasing from agencies, to prostitutes to make money.

"In effect these people are party to habitual prostitution, which is an offence.
"We sent out the letters to raise awareness among businesses in The Grey Toon who are letting flats in the city.
"I felt it was important that they were made aware of what was happening.
"Officers have been calling round as well to let them know.
"The letter tells them that if they are aware that this kind of activity is going on they could be committing an offence."

Police discovered that some people are sub- letting the flats to the prostitutes for around £600 to £700 a week, more than they would be paying the letting agent in rent.

Investigations are continuing into the problem. But police are also hoping that if any solicitors or letting agents discover that people are breaking the law that they will contact them.

Another part of their ongoing investigation is newspaper advertisements placed by prostitutes. Hookers are using some newspapers to advertise "massages".

Within minutes of contacting one of the adverts in a national newspaper we found that a massage could cost around £40 but a range of "extra" services were on offer. Without further prompting a list of extras was given, including sex for £50 for half an hour. One woman who answered another line said that for an hour with one of the women it would cost £100. She said they had a number of women on offer. We passed our information on to the police.

DCI Leslie said those sub-letting the properties were charging the prostitutes a fortune in rent.
He said: "They are making a lot of money from it.
"It is a problem which we are addressing and, with the assistance of many others it is a problem that should go away.
"As you have discovered some girls advertise in newspapers with mobile phone numbers under different services.
"This is also something we are looking at."

DCI Leslie said that most of the prostitutes operating in The Grey Toon were from London, Manchester and Liverpool. But police have also found foreign nationals working as prostitutes in the city.

Prostitution is not just a problem within flats in the city. The Grey Toon still has a problem with prostitutes working the streets around the harbour. The Grey Toon has introduced an experimental tolerance zone to combat the street prostitution in the city. The zone covers St Clement Street, Miller Street and Church Street. If girls stick to working in these areas they are left along by police - if they step outside it they are arrested. A prostitute drop-in centre has also been introduced in the harbour area. The centre provides information about stopping or reducing drug-taking, employment and housing. The centre has two members of staff who are aiming to build up a trust with visitors.

However, a similar tolerance zone in Edinburgh no longer operates. The zone in Leith was axed after complaints by locals. But Independent MSP Margo MacDonald says that since the tolerance zone was scrapped assaults on prostitutes had soared 10-fold.

My conclusions?
1) I'm really quite privileged to have these fine women as my neighbours
2) You don't need good grammar or spelling to work for the local paper...