Official seeks higher fines for ‘johns’
Those arrested in Columbus for soliciting a prostitute have historically faced few consequences for their actions, Deputy Police Chief Jennifer Knight says.
The average fine for the offense is $74 – about half of what a speeding ticket costs, Knight said.
It’s why Knight will soon propose to the Columbus City Council that more punitive penalties be enacted for “johns” – the offenders who solicit sex workers.
“Penalties would absolutely demonstrate that the city of Columbus is serious about the issue,” Knight said. “We need to have a person fearful about driving into a neighborhood to pick up a prostitute.”
For a first-time offender, Knight is proposing that the minimum fine be $300 – about four times the current average fine. She would also like the offender to go to “John School,” a program that educates johns about the dangers of prostitution, and be evaluated by a professional counselor.
Repeat offenders would face even stiffer sanctions if Knight’s proposal is adopted. She would like to see the mandatory minimum be an $800 fine and 15 days in jail.
Knight said statistics show that 25% of those who solicit prostitutes are responsible for 75% of the business. She said it’s why the city needs to take a tougher stance toward repeat offenders.
She will be presenting her recommendations to the Columbus City Council’s Public Safety Committee, headed by Councilman Mitchell J. Brown. She hopes the increased sanctions could go into effect sometime during the first quarter of next year.
Brown said he hasn’t yet received Knight’s recommendations. But he said he trusts her and believes that she will deliver a “quality” proposal.
Also trained as an attorney, Knight said she has been working with the Columbus City Attorney’s Office on the details. City Attorney Zach Klein has said before that the “demand” side of the prostitution issue needs to be addressed.
Under state law, the prostitute and the offender soliciting services are charged under the same statute. The
maximum penalty is a $1,000 fine and six months in prison, though a judge seldom levies the maximum.
Columbus, with its charter government, can write its own law within the state guidelines that can set mandatory minimum sentences, Knight said.
Knight wanted to roll out her proposal earlier this year. But that changed with the COVID-19 outbreak, followed by a spring and summer in which the city was rocked by protests following the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody.
As deputy chief, Knight has taken charge of the Police and Community Together (PACT) unit, which succeeded the disgraced and disbanded police vice unit.
Knight has tried to change the Columbus police approach to prostitution.
“The problem is law enforcement wasn’t dealing with the symptoms,” Knight said.
Though the customer has tended to get off lightly, the prostitute usually does not.
Knight said that prostitutes suffer a high rate of drug addiction and also are more likely to be victims of violence and homicide.
The Columbus part of Operation Autumn Hope – a recent statewide effort to combat human trafficking – illustrates how the city is trying to handle the issue.
In the past, a prostitute was directly taken to jail and would either post bond or be released after a few days in jail or paying a fine.
In late October, Columbus police arrested 40 women and 10 johns. The Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force made an additional 30 arrests, and there were 177 arrests statewide.
The arrests in Columbus were made along Sullivant Avenue, Parsons Avenue on the South Side and the Linden neighborhoods.
Before going to jail, every one of the 40 women arrested in Columbus was first served a meal.
A counselor and a medical professional were on hand to talk with each woman. Knight said there have been cases where women had to be taken to the hospital. The city also is bringing in social service organizations, such as the Salvation Army and other programs, to help.
The women are given information about CATCH Court, a specialized court in Franklin County for human trafficking victims. The women also are given information about programs that deal with addiction.
“They are not a blight on neighborhoods,” Knight said. “They are human beings.” jwoods@dispatch.com @Woodsnight