Prostitution is Booming Business in New Orleans

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

The number of prostitutes walking the streets in New Orleans, along with prostitution-related arrests has surpassed the level of pre-Katrina New Orleans, mainly due to the estimated 40,000 to 50,000 out-of-town labourers who are away from their families, and have pocketfuls of money to blow.

With crime rampant in today's New Orleans, there is a lack of bedspace at Orleans Parish Prison, so the more serious criminals are transferred to out-of-town incarseration facilities, while prostitutes are often charged with lesser offences such as solicitation, processed, and released back onto the streets often in a matter of minutes.

It's "like the Super Bowl" for sex workers, said Deputy Chief James Scott, commander of the Police Department's Intelligence Division, from his division's headquarters in a trailer.

With the lure of big money with small consequences, New Orleans has attracted many out-of-town prostitutes, working mainly in the French Quarter.

Prior to Huricane Katrina, vice officers in New Orleans knew most street walkers on a first name basis, but now there is a totally different crowd, with many new faces.

Hookers have stepped up their game also, moving away from conventional street solicitation and onto the internet. Prostitutes will hand prospective clients a business card or even scrap piece of paper with an email address or website address written on it, where they can make their "dates".

This new technique is proving to make it harder for vice officers to control the sex trade.