Police continue vice clampdown

It's a warm Saturday evening and a burly sales assistant in a black vest hangs his head, his arms stretched out over the steering wheel in front of him.

Moments earlier, he'd driven past police in an unmarked vice patrol car. They knew exactly who, and more importantly what, his passenger was.

Vice officer Pc Anthony Styles tells the suspect why he's been pulled over. He's ventured into Wolverhampton's red light district where pimps, prostitutes and punters have, historically, made life almost unbearable for residents. Women and children are propositioned in their gardens by men who travel from far and wide for one reason.

Girls loiter in residential streets, bringing with them the drugs crime which is a part of the vice world in All Saints, Parkfields and Horseley Fields

As the suspect explains how a prostitute came to be in his car, vice officer Pc Vicky Robey is trying to get the other side of the story from the blonde prostitute.

The girl gives various explanations, before Pc Robey highlights the warning on the witness statement form: Tell the truth.

Ultimately, the prostitute is released. Police have not seen her loitering, so she is not arrested.

The man in the vest, however, is arrested. He is forced to lock up his car and leave it in busy Wolverhampton Road East while he is taken to Bilston Street police station.

He is fingerprinted, photographed and questioned for almost an hour before being charged. As he is driven back to his car, past a billboard proclaiming "Kerb crawlers destroy families", he nervously asks about the court process.

As darkness draws in, around a dozen girls are working the streets - more than there have been in recent times. Some have not been seen working for months. One girl waves at the police when she realises she's been spotted.

Another makes the mistake of jumping into a camper van, complete with a bed and kitchen, parked in Powlett Street - in full view of the vice squad. Within seconds the van driver is ordered to pull over.

He is separated from the girl before they are both quizzed. Countless lone male drivers - potential kerb crawlers - rubberneck as they pass. Within minutes, the driver, a college lecturer from Wales, is arrested and put into a holding cage in the back of a marked police van.

He is later charged and will soon be appearing in court. Despite all the effort that has gone into ridding Wolverhampton of vice, Saturday night's snapshot showed there is much more work to be done.

Annette Bryan has been one of the loudest voices amongst the residents who have risen up against vice. Six months ago, it was absolutely fantastic. We had the quietest period that we've ever known. It was like living on a normal, everyday estate.

"But this last week or so, it's been creeping back a bit. Maybe that's because it's not been publicised as much."

High profile figures, including a headteacher, a councillor, a dentist and even a businessman in a Rolls Royce have been caught red-handed by vice police. In turn, the Express & Star prints their names, photos and addresses.

In court, defence solicitors have resigned themselves to the fact that details of their clients' encounters will be read by family, friends and tens of thousands of strangers.

"Can I tick the box for no publicity?," joked one lawyer when spotting our reporter before a case.

A member of the Duke Street Residents Association, who asked not to be named, said: "The naming and shaming has had a big impact.

"Some of them are business people and I think it puts the frighteners on them." But there has been some concern that the court's response has not always been fair.

A wealthy businessman was recently fined £100 for kerb crawling, while in a nearby court an engineer was ordered to pay £400. "It's still the same crime, you're still kerb crawling," argues Mrs Bryan.

Dr Adrian Phillips, chairman of the city's Prostitution Task Group, is optimistic that the improvement will continue.

"Very recently, there was one Saturday night where there were no kerb crawlers out," he said. "That's a fantastic result and people can go out on the streets of an evening and not feel threatened.

"Partly through the work of the Express & Star, it's become acceptable to talk about it as a problem and people are prepared to do something about it."

Dr Phillips is another to raise concerns over the courts' response to the problem.

"The driving ban is really important, even if it's just for two weeks," said Dr Phillips. "It's very hard to tell insurance companies or employers why you can't drive for two weeks."

Popular stories:

• Video - William gets his degree aged 90

• Police continue vice clampdown

• Video - golf star's Ryder Cup preview

• Star Trek video sets beam down

• Jimmy Cricket praises changes to Lichfield theatre