CLEBURNE TEXAS PROSTITUTION STING LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dear Matt Smith:
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If you'd like to write the officer on this matter yourself - here's his email:
shane.wickson@cleburne.net
The below is to the police involved in the article you wrote here at http://www.
Jody
_______________________
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE FOOLING? IF, and I emphasize, IF you really wanted to be "rescuing" these women then how come our office hasn't received a phone call yet? We've been organizing outreach campaigns since 1987. More than that, I myself, the founder of Sex Workers Anonymous, am the very reason why you even acknowledge these women may need "rescue" as I'm also the founder of the modern day sex trafficking movement. Back in 1986, there was actually a Bill being proposed to quarantine "prostitutes, addicts and homosexuals" on an island in fear of us not only as criminals, but as a health threat. There was no concept we might be "victims" of anything. We were viewed only, and solely as "criminals". If you want to see how we were treated before which prompted me to stand up and demand change, catch the film "Frozen Ground" with Nicholas Cage showing how we couldn't even get the police to issue a search warrant on a house when we'd been chained up in a guy's basement, and then hunted for sport in plain sight.
If what you were doing officers was about "rescue" - then you would have gone online to look for resources. Where you would have found that not only was our program, the original, the oldest, the largest, program out there, but also the most effective one. We've had more than one independent investigative journalist from Bob Herbert to John Quinones come out to check us out with their own eyes, and write glowing reports about our work. None of this movement again would have even been started, the Trafficking Act of 2000 passed, nothing without what our program, and it's members, have done to raise awareness in the world about what's going on out here for us. You would have found Sex Workers Anonymous, found that we offer people like you free training, and even probably local members who could come forward to help you do outreach, and then refer these men and women where they belong - with us. Just as anyone who is suffering from an alcohol problem belongs to AA and a drug problem belongs to NA.
But you aren't. Now why is that? Do I hear the words "grant" or "budget" coming up? Because here's what I've been seeing happen ever since WE achieved federal recognition that domestic sex trafficking is real. I've been seeing towns act like we don't exist, then they run a bunch of stories about how bad the problem is much like the animal shelter people put up videos of poor abused dogs, and then next thing I know they're off writing some grant which winds up in the pockets of the local police department, the local homeless shelter gets thrown a few bucks, a couple of politicians and DA's get themselves promoted into a new office with a higher pay scale - and WE wind up with bumpkiss.
Because I do believe if the motivation behind this was to "rescue" anyone - you would have spent at least 60 seconds on Google to find us. To find we can give you free training, free flyers, and even connect these men and women to our local meetings, our Recovery Guides, our hotline, and everything else they need to effectively either escape trafficking if that's the situation, or simply exit the sex industry if that's their situation. But there's no money for your department is there in doing this is there? No - the only thing that you get out of that is hearing interviews from them a few years later about how we saved them like we have up also online at www.blogtalkradio.com/
No one, no one, goes out to "save" someone without first at least researching where to refer them to. No one buys a bike without taking riding lessons. No one gets behind the wheel of a car to drive without driving lessons. So no - I don't believe the intent here is to help anyone - or I would have gotten a phone call at our 24/7 hotline that's been answered by another recovering prostitute, or survivor, since 1987.
Even Michael Horowitz, the man who WROTE the Trafficking Act of 2000 says this movement has been "hijacked". Well it's time to take it back. We started this movement not as some new excuse for you to arrest prostitutes and johns without the public saying this isn't the way and so you can pat yourself on the back like you're the good guys and so you can apply for more grant money for your departments. We started this movement because things without our whole legal system had to change. I'll cite you the Margo Compton case as an example. That woman came to the police to escape modern day sex trafficking. The police were ill equipped and didn't understand how to help her because they REFUSED to sit down and talk to someone like myself who has effectively been rescuing women like her for 30 years now. Because they REFUSED to change their ways - Margo, and her two twin daughters were slaughtered while in the police care. When are you people going to realize this isn't domestic violence, nor drug addiction, nor even mental illness? We stepped up in the public eye back in the 1980's not to sell books or make movies but to demand this country HELP US by changing outdated systems that don't work for us anymore.
Just as those who were abused as children, raped, abused, and even drug addicts and alcoholics have demanded this country had to change the way they were responding to them - so too are we. But all you've been doing instead of listening is using the publicity to further your careers and using grant money donors are intending to be used to help us to help you officers line your pockets - while this Keystone Cops routine I'm reading about continues.
What's different here other than the words? You're still rounding people up and arresting them without any idea what you're doing. All you're doing is calling it 'rescue" instead of "arrest". All you're doing is calling us "victim" instead of "prostitute". Nothing's changed but the words here.
ENOUGH. You want me to believe you want to help us? Then you call us and ASK me what you can do that will WORK and I'll be happy to show you. That is what I'm here for and have been here for three decades now. Don't you think it's about time you did listen? We're not taking this anymore. Through social media and the internet members can send me articles like this and ask me to speak out on their behalf. Which is what I'm doing.
You can reach me, Jody W., at www.sexworkersanonymous.com
Because I do believe if the motivation behind this was to "rescue" anyone - you would have spent at least 60 seconds on Google to find us. To find we can give you free training, free flyers, and even connect these men and women to our local meetings, our Recovery Guides, our hotline, and everything else they need to effectively either escape trafficking if that's the situation, or simply exit the sex industry if that's their situation. But there's no money for your department is there in doing this is there? No - the only thing that you get out of that is hearing interviews from them a few years later about how we saved them like we have up also online at www.blogtalkradio.com/
No one, no one, goes out to "save" someone without first at least researching where to refer them to. No one buys a bike without taking riding lessons. No one gets behind the wheel of a car to drive without driving lessons. So no - I don't believe the intent here is to help anyone - or I would have gotten a phone call at our 24/7 hotline that's been answered by another recovering prostitute, or survivor, since 1987.
Even Michael Horowitz, the man who WROTE the Trafficking Act of 2000 says this movement has been "hijacked". Well it's time to take it back. We started this movement not as some new excuse for you to arrest prostitutes and johns without the public saying this isn't the way and so you can pat yourself on the back like you're the good guys and so you can apply for more grant money for your departments. We started this movement because things without our whole legal system had to change. I'll cite you the Margo Compton case as an example. That woman came to the police to escape modern day sex trafficking. The police were ill equipped and didn't understand how to help her because they REFUSED to sit down and talk to someone like myself who has effectively been rescuing women like her for 30 years now. Because they REFUSED to change their ways - Margo, and her two twin daughters were slaughtered while in the police care. When are you people going to realize this isn't domestic violence, nor drug addiction, nor even mental illness? We stepped up in the public eye back in the 1980's not to sell books or make movies but to demand this country HELP US by changing outdated systems that don't work for us anymore.
Just as those who were abused as children, raped, abused, and even drug addicts and alcoholics have demanded this country had to change the way they were responding to them - so too are we. But all you've been doing instead of listening is using the publicity to further your careers and using grant money donors are intending to be used to help us to help you officers line your pockets - while this Keystone Cops routine I'm reading about continues.
What's different here other than the words? You're still rounding people up and arresting them without any idea what you're doing. All you're doing is calling it 'rescue" instead of "arrest". All you're doing is calling us "victim" instead of "prostitute". Nothing's changed but the words here.
ENOUGH. You want me to believe you want to help us? Then you call us and ASK me what you can do that will WORK and I'll be happy to show you. That is what I'm here for and have been here for three decades now. Don't you think it's about time you did listen? We're not taking this anymore. Through social media and the internet members can send me articles like this and ask me to speak out on their behalf. Which is what I'm doing.
You can reach me, Jody W., at www.sexworkersanonymous.com
PS - do you know what publishing photos of a woman labeling her as a "prostitutes" DOES? Well if you'd asked someone who has seen the results of prior such actions by other police departments (just because someone does something doesn't mean it's a good idea - you know the old saying about "well if they jumped off a bridge - would you?") - I'll tell you what happens.
When they get home from being arrested, and these photos are released online - they get a notice of eviction. If they have husbands or boyfriends who don't know about these activities - then they're liable to get murdered. There are cases on the books where this has happened. So if they don't get the courtesy of an eviction notice - they might just find their things put out on the porch when they come home.
Did you check to see if any of these women had children? Because if they did, the next day at school their young sons are going to come home with a black eye from defending their mother's honor from the other boys calling her a "whore". The little girls are going to come home with their dresses ripped up from other boys wanting to see what color the panties are for the daughter of a whore. That's if the child isn't sent home by the school because of some altercation that erupted on the school yard when the other kids attacked the child for their mommy being a "whore".
If they do have some legit job - that's over. They'll be fired. If they are looking for work - scratch that. Everytime they go on an interview - the interviewer is going to find this photo. So you can kiss work goodbye as long as those photos are online or as long as people remember them.
If she had bail, court fees, had to hire an attorney - now she's going to have to raise money, while looking for a new place to live, a new school for her kids, etc. Which is going to be twice as hard because she won't be able to find legit work and no one will loan her money knowing she's a hooker.
You'd better hope she doesn't have any old pimps out of state she's escaped looking for her. Because other cases where these pictures have been posted have flushed old pimps out of the woodwork. Now they know where to find her. One case in Florida - the old pimp saw her picture and came and murdered her. The police dept. was sued as being negligent and liable for her murder because a reasonable person would assume that maybe she has old pimps out looking for her somewhere.
You just increased her prostitution 100 fold because now the local "johns" will know she's not an undercover cop. So they'll be chasing her down the street handing her money. She's a celebrity now with her picture online - so in my opinion your dept. is guilty of pandering. You've just directed these guys where to find a prostitute, and contributing to her income as a prostitute by these pictures.
So let's see - you just got her evicted, fired, targeted by johns and pimps - and you want to run by me again that this is supposed to "rescue" her? What kind of 1984 "double speak" are you people talking over there?
That makes about as much sense as how they would lock up the drunks in a "drunk tank" before Alcoholics Anonymous was created that taught your departments, and courts, that this was a disease requiring specialized treatment. That's why special courts were set up.
That's all the more reason why you should have contacted OUR group. Not only are we the founders of this movement - but we've been helping victims escape trafficking AND also helping sex workers exit the industry for 30 years.
Now I got further news for you - if these women came to the motel on an appointment - they ARE NOT TRAFFICKING VICTIMS. Let me open up the dictionary here and try to explain that a prostitute is a prostitute and NOT a trafficking victim.
Trafficking victims aren't booking dates at motel rooms. So frankly it sounds to me like you need some serious help over there with respect to training on this issue. PLEASE STOP THIS. Those photos you posted - JUST RUINED THOSE WOMENS LIVES. You may even have got one of them murdered. Stop this - you're like a kid with a book of matches.
But this is NOT HELP. I personally would be surprised if someone doesn't get murdered off those posters and I also will help them find an attorney to sue you over them if you don't take them down for defamation. Since a radio DJ just "called" a woman a "prostitute" on his show and he got slammed with a $1,000,000 judgment - you could be held liable for this. You don't know these womens' stories yet and one of them might have been a trafficking victim, or a mistake - but you've just labeled them "prostitute" online.
Tsk tsk.
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Jody Williams
(702) 498-6211 Cell Phone
(702) 498-6211 Cell Phone
If you'd like to write the officer on this matter yourself - here's his email:
shane.wickson@cleburne.net
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