The City of Seattle is shifting its strategy on cracking down on prostitution within its city limits. The Seattle City Attorney’s Office intends to increase the number of men prosecuted for soliciting prostitution and give prostitutes the opportunity to receive social services designed to help get them out of the prostitution business. Currently, the ratio of criminal complaint filings between johns and prostitutes is approximately 40% – 60%, respectively.
City Attorney Pete Holmes’ belief is that prostitutes are victims, not criminals, and thus may be better served by having their cases dealt with in Seattle’s Community Court where they can benefit from certain social services. Seattle’s Community Court allows non-violent offenders to avoid criminal sentencing if they agree to participate in programs aimed at addressing the root causes of their crime(s), including, but not necessarily limited to, chemical dependency, education, unemployment and homelessness.
In the city’s new prostitution crackdown scheme, men prosecuted for soliciting a prostitute (unlike their female prostitute counterpart) will not have the option of Seattle’s Community Court. Currently there are alternatives to conviction for first time offenders who solicit prostitutes; under certain circumstances, johns may qualify for a pre-trial diversion program instead of an outright conviction.
Under the Seattle City Attorney’s aggressive strategy, the city intends to prosecute johns even if there is scant evidence, and even though there is a high risk that the government won’t win its case at trial, so long as the city has minimal probable cause to move forward on the case.
Because of the significant consequences one faces when arrested for a crime in Seattle, it is imperative that one retain a qualified Seattle criminal attorney so as to not only best minimize the myriad of legal consequences he faces, but also to protect his rights and liberty interests. The Seattle criminal attorneys that make up the criminal defense team of SQ Attorneys are highly qualified Seattle criminal defense lawyers that are dedicated to providing top notch, aggressive representation for those charged with committing crime in and around Western Washington and the greater Puget Sound region. The team creates success by working with law enforcement and the prosecuting attorney’s office to ensure that all facts and circumstances related to the criminal allegations are considered in creating the fairest, most equitable and just resolution possible.
If you or a loved one is arrested for allegedly committing a crime in King County, Pierce County, Snohomish County, Kitsap County, Thurston County or one of the following cities or towns: Algona, Bellevue, Black Diamond, Bonney Lake, Bothell, Burien, Des Moines, Duvall, Edmonds, Enumclaw, Everett, Federal Way, fife, Hunts Point, Issaquah, Kenmore, Kent, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, Lake Stevens, Lakewood, Lynnwood, Maple Valley, Marysville, Medina, Mercer Island, Milton, Monroe, Mountlake Terrace, New Castle, Normandy Park, North Bend, Olympia, Puyallup, Redmond, Renton, Sammamish, Sea Tac, Seattle, Shoreline, Snohomish, Sumner, Tacoma, Tukwila, University Place, and/or Woodinville, or any other city or town in Western Washington, call The Criminal Defense Team of SQ Attorneys at (206) 441-0900 for an initial free consultation.
