Prostitution in San Diego has exploded since a controversial California law took effect this year. As a result, businesses have taken on additional security costs and warned customers that they are likely to see nearly naked women and pimps if they visit the area, one business owner told Fox News Digital.
“Cost of business, cost of security. We had to put lights on the roof – at our expense – to scare them off, and because of the bill, the lights now help them if they want to get in front of me.” “Build to shake and do different things… to get their attention rather than being left in the dark,” a San Diego business owner told Fox News Digital.
The business owner spoke to Fox News Digital on condition of anonymity because he feared pimps or prostitutes in the area could retaliate against the business owner’s vehicles, property or employees. The business owner has been operating at the same location for 25 years.
“They’ll break into cars, they’ll blow out tires. We had a neighbor … who had his vehicle broken into multiple times and had his tools stolen from it,” the business owner said.
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A business owner said women wearing barely any clothing have taken over an area of San Diego in recent months. (Fox News Digital)
“Because of the Safer Streets Act, local business owners now have to hide their identities while disclosing the problems the bill has caused, which was never a problem before,” the business owner added.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 357 in July 2022, which repealed a previous law that banned loitering with the intent to commit prostitution. The bill was advocated as a law that would help protect transgender women from being targeted by police.
“The author introduced this legislation because the crime of loitering has a disproportionate impact on Black and brown women and members of the LGBTQ community,” the governor said in signing the bill.
“To be clear, this bill does not legalize prostitution. It simply repeals provisions of the law that have resulted in disproportionate harassment of women and transgender adults. Although I agree with the author’s intention and sign this law, we must be careful about its implementation. My administration will monitor crime and law enforcement trends for potential unintended consequences and take action to mitigate such impacts.”
“Parents need to explain to their children why at 7:30 a.m. when they go to school there are two women in G-strings shaking their butts, flashing their breasts and trying to stop vehicles.”
The law went into effect in January this year and, according to the business owner, encouraged prostitutes and pimps to scour the city’s streets in search of johns without negative repercussions.
“I still blush sometimes. These are some very confident women. …They wear G-strings. …Her breasts are completely exposed. “One of them was wearing a letterman jacket and nothing else,” the business owner said.
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Women stand in front of cars in San Diego. One of the women appears to be working on a vehicle. (Fox News Digital)
A concentrated area on the city’s Dalbergia Street has long been a hotspot for sexual solicitation and is near San Diego’s border with neighboring National City. National City Mayor Ron Morrison spoke to Fox News Digital earlier this month to highlight that prostitution has also increased since SB 357 hit the headlines, adding that police are essentially left to solve the crime hands are tied.
“Senate Bill 357… has legalized prostitution in every way because it states that officials can no longer have contact with people who are just loitering around the idea of engaging in prostitution. This is essentially telling the police to stay away from it,” Morrison said.
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The San Diego business owner described scenes that resembled a gritty crime thriller, with pimps playing loud music in cars while prostitutes walked the streets in high heels. When the women find a john, they drive to a local hotel or around the block if the john’s request is “something that can be done quicker.”
“It is the residents who feel this the most. There are children who have to step over byproducts. Parents need to explain to children why there are two at 7:30 a.m. when they go to school. “Women in G-strings were shaking their butts, showing their breasts and trying to stop vehicles,” the business owner said.
A woman stands on the streets of San Diego in high heels and a skimpy outfit. (Fox News Digital)
With clocks set to go back an hour next month, the business owner predicted the situation will “get worse and worse” as more prostitutes take to the streets.
The business owner stressed that police’s hands are tied when it comes to deterring crime, arguing that politicians in the city have taken a hands-off approach. City Council member Vivian Moreno has not personally visited local businesses to listen to their concerns, the business owner said, while Democratic Mayor Todd Gloria has said “not a word” about the issue to the business owner or others in the area.
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“I have never seen anyone from the local councilor’s office contact anyone in this neighborhood. Come over and try to say, ‘Hey, we’re trying to help. How can we put some resources in, like maybe some extra lights? Maybe a few extra cameras?’” the business owner said.
“Mayor Gloria visited the area and spoke publicly about the issue,” the mayor’s office told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. The office also noted that police have conducted undercover operations, including one earlier this year that resulted in 48 arrests in San Diego County.
“The criminals brought down as part of this operation abused and exploited women for their own gain,” Gloria said at a news conference after the sting operation this year. “We will continue to disrupt these criminal activities that seek to harm those in our communities.”
The San Diego skyline at night from Centennial Park in Coronado, California (Christopher A. Jones via Getty Images)
San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit told local media this month that SB 357’s impact on crime was “all predictable.”
“It was all predictable. We saw shootings down there. We’ve seen stabbings,” Nisleit told 10 News. “Part of the foreseeable consequences of this very bad bill is that a community is now affected. She doesn’t feel safe in her own homes.”
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Local media attention has made traffic in the area even worse, as out-of-town johns get wind of San Diego’s sex workers.
A woman in San Diego who appears to be wearing only her underwear. (Fox News Digital)
“Every time we get a local news report, traffic increases. The prostitutes don’t disappear. It’s not like we’d rather hide away for a while.” “We’re getting extra traffic because out-of-town punters are now realizing, ‘Hey, look what we can do,’” the business owner said.
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He hopes the law will be repealed, especially when local leaders visit the area to see firsthand how residents and business owners fear for their safety and are forced to spend more on security systems or even clean up vomit and feces from the streets .
According to a business owner, prostitution problems in San Diego have increased since controversial SB 357 made headlines in California. (Fox News Digital)
The business owner is now even warning customers about the problem and sending employees to meet some customers who are hesitant to travel to the prostitution hotspot.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office and Councilman Moreno but received no comment regarding SB 357 and prostitution issues in San Diego.
Source : www.foxnews.com