Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth) (KRT) via NewsEdge Corporation
They call it "John TV."
The names and photos of people arrested on suspicion of buying or selling sex could be featured on the city's cable television station and highlighted on the city's Web site under a proposal from the Fort Worth Police Department and the city's new community prosecutors.
"A lot of people hide it," Police Chief Ralph Mendoza said. "If there is a chance that their loved ones will find out, hopefully that will be a deterrent."
Fort Worth police would join a growing number of law enforcement agencies that publicize the names of those arrested on suspicion of prostitution -- a charge under Texas law that includes both the buyer and seller of sex.
Arlington recently began posting prostitution arrests on its Web site, and Dallas has put arrest information online for prostitution and other indecency cases.
Today, attorneys will brief Fort Worth council members on the plan, which would likely publicize names and photos for about three months after an arrest. The program could begin as soon as August.
"You always get people who claim that their rights are being violated," said Gerald Pruitt, Fort Worth deputy city attorney. "But I don't think there is a legal problem with it at all because the information is already a matter of public record."
Pruitt said the city's Web site will include a disclaimer -- similar to ones in Arlington and Dallas -- that the people arrested are innocent until proven guilty.
The city must still decide how long to keep the information online and how to pull it if someone is acquitted or a grand jury does not indict.
First offenses for prostitution are a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail. Further offenses are Class A misdemeanors, punishable by up to two years in state jail.
Details of the cable program are still being worked out.
But prosecutors would like to broadcast the information on a regular basis.
"Hopefully it will deter the activity from occurring in the community," said prosecutor Deanna JeffersonSmith. "We would also like to find alternative services to the prostitutes, such as drug or alcohol treatment, so prostitution won't be their only way of life."
Arlington police say it is too early to measure the impact of their program, which also includes sending a postcard to the homes of people who are arrested suggesting that they could be at risk of sexually transmitted diseases and that they seek information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Publishing prostitution arrests is part of a broader plan in Arlington to improve areas blighted by crime.
"We wanted to send a message to johns that if they come and get involved in prostitution here they will be posted on the Web page for everyone to see," said Jaime Ayala, Arlington deputy police chief. "It's already out there in the jail booking information."
By the numbers
13 Number of Fort Worth vice officers
90 Number of days an arrest would be publicized
46 Arrests in west Fort Worth*
79 Arrests in south Fort Worth*
80 Arrests in north Fort Worth*
190 Arrests in east Fort Worth*
* From April 2006 to April 2007
Source: Fort Worth police
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Anthony Spangler, 817-390-7420
Information From: star-telegram.com
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