Police charge 33 in Calgary in four-day prostitution sweep
CALGARY It’s not uncommon for Victor Goosen to pass by a sex worker when he’s leaving or returning to his Forest Lawn home.
For the past five years, Goosen has lived on 19th Avenue S.E., a known stroll for sex workers in Calgary.
“They’re constantly around,” said Goosen, the vice-president of the Forest Lawn Community Association. “The police do their best, they’re constantly talking to them. Really, it’s the johns that are the problem.”
A four-day police operation targeting street-level sex trafficking recently resulted in the arrest of 33 people, charged with unlawfully communicating for the purpose of obtaining sexual services.
District 1 officers and members of the vice unit conducted the operation Oct. 13-16, honing in on areas identified as problem locations by police and community members.
Police used undercover operators to target offenders in Forest Lawn, the Beltline and downtown, said Det. Paul Rubner with the vice unit.
While police see “noticeably fewer” sex-trade workers on the streets, it’s fairly standard for police to nab around 30 people looking to obtain sexual services during a weeklong sting, said Det. Paul Rubner with the vice unit.
In addition to those charges, police provided information to sextrade workers and issued eight summonses for various traffic offences. Two people were arrested on warrants as disqualified drivers and had their vehicles impounded, while a third person was arrested on a Criminal Code warrant.
Police say their highest priority in prostitution enforcement are those cases involving minors, exploitation and human trafficking. The service also works with community agencies such as Servants Anonymous and Shift Calgary to help those who want out of the sex trade.
“Every woman that we encounter is offered the opportunity to get out of the lifestyle,” Rubner said. “It they do want us to help them, then we can very often have them helped and have them safe inside of two hours.”
In 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the country’s remaining prostitution laws, ruling them unconstitutional. The federal Conservative government responded with Bill C-36, which explicitly outlaws the buying — not the selling — of sex.
“Even before Bedford (Canada v. Bedford, the Supreme Court ruling), it wasn’t really our practice to charge sex-trade workers,” Rubner said.
“It was really seen as marginalizing an already marginalized segment of society.”