Prostitution enforcement in San Francisco's Mission District nets 30 arrests
The San Francisco Police Department said that 30 people were arrested in its eight nights of operations against crimes related to prostitution in the Mission District.
Between May 8 and May 19, police operated in the areas of Shotwell Street between 18th and 21st streets, and in the area of South Van Ness Avenue and 18th Street. The arrests were made at various locations but originated from these two areas, police said.
Out of 30 adults arrested, 17 were caught paying for sexual acts while the rest were nabbed for accepting money for sexual acts, police alleged.
Investigators said 10 of the individuals arrested were from San Francisco.
"This flow of people committing crimes from littering used condoms, double parking, and blocking roadways in addition to the acts of prostitution has created hazardous street conditions for those who live and work in the area," police said in the press release about the operation. "The SFPD will hold those accountable for their actions who are coming into our neighborhoods to commit crimes and disturb the peace."
The operation comes over a month after video of a brutal attack by a suspected sex worker on a homeless woman on Shotwell St. raised questions about the city's efforts to crack down on prostitution in the neighborhood.
An area resident who wished to remain anonymous captured the video of the suspected sex worker beating the homeless woman on Shotwell St. near 21st in late March.
"She was sitting on top of this woman, and she was beating her, hitting her in the head and the chest very hard and screaming," she said about the attack.
City officials have been trying to discourage the activity for over a year, even installing concrete barriers at one hotspot to keep johns away.