EVERETT — Everett City Councilman Ron Gipson’s crusade against prostitution will not be televised.
His proposal to air the mug shots and names of convicted johns on the city’s cable channel could result in legal challenges and be a logistical problem for city staffers, according to a report released Wednesday.
Producing the program would “require a disproportionate amount of resources” relative to a misdemeanor crime that is infrequently handled by city prosecutors, Everett Police Department’s attorney Laura Van Slyck told the council. She said cases with men convicted of soliciting prostitutes make up less than 1 percent of cases since 2001 that police have referred to the city prosecutor’s office.
State law prohibits the city from using a booking photo or a photo from driver’s license for reasons other than assisting in the investigation of a crime.
That means a city employee would have to take photos of offenders, which could be seen as an additional punishment for their crime, Van Slyck said.
She also questioned whether the program would actually deter sex trafficking.
Gipson challenged those findings and later lashed out at Councilman Paul Roberts, who cracked a joke about good prospects for reality television in light of the ongoing TV writers strike.
Roberts’ reality TV quip came after Gipson suggested broadening the channel to fight not only prostitution but other crimes. “You won’t be laughing when it comes to your neighborhood,” Gipson said.
In September, Gipson proposed using the city’s TV station and Web site to embarrass people mixed up in the world’s oldest profession. He called it a “modern scarlet letter” and said shining a spotlight on the problem would be an effective tool for cutting down on the number of men soliciting prostitutes.
The city’s cable channel now televises City Council and Sound Transit board meetings, as well as a monthly question-and-answer session with the city’s spokeswoman and Mayor Ray Stephanson.
Several other cities, including Denver, Chicago and Spokane, have used the power and reach of their cable channels to expose people who drive demand for prostitutes with varying degrees of success.
“It never had any measurable effect in deterring the activity,” Spokane spokeswoman Marlene Feist said of that city’s program that was yanked after a short run in the late 1990s.
Spokane’s cable program only used the names of men and women convicted of prostitution-related crimes.
Council President Drew Nielsen, who is also an attorney, said the idea is fraught with problems and the potential for inaccuracies which could expose the city to privacy or defamation claims.
Everett Police Chief Jim Scharf acknowledged prostitution is a hot-button issue for residents, but said police already employ several effective programs including undercover work and sting operations. Police also fight prostitution with a city ordinance that allows municipal court judges to order prostitutes and their customers away from problematic areas.
Scharf said more than traditional police work has to be done to free women and some men caught up in the “tragic lifestyle” of prostitution, and suggested working with Snohomish County Human Services and other agencies.
Councilwoman Brenda Stonecipher brought up several objections to an Everett version of John TV, including the potential harm it could have on families.
She said once savvy kids saw photos of a schoolmate’s father who was arrested, word would “spread like wildfire.”
“I think this could be very devastating for a child to see their father up on a Web site,” she said.
Gipson first pitched the idea of using the government access channel to shame johns after residents near motels along Broadway complained of prostitutes, men cruising in cars and used needles and condoms in alleyways.
“When somebody commits a crime, the hammer is going to come down hard,” he said. “Family members will get hurt, if someone is committing a crime, be it murder or molesting a child. I just don’t see what people are afraid of fighting crime.”
Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.
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