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November 07, 2004
Prostitutution Enforcement Priority Propositions in Berkeley Defeated
Via Prof. Leitzel, the Oakland Tribune reports on the failure of a Berkeley ballot proposition to relax prostitution laws:
After receiving national attention, Measure Q, which would have made enforcing prostitution laws the police department's lowest priority, lost by a 63.9 to 36.1 percent margin. It needed a simple majority to pass.
This is interesting for several reasons. First, even leftwing Berkeley is unwilling to make prostitution easier. Second, this is the first time I've heard of a law that would rank law enforcement priorities. Ordinarily, that is up to the prosecutor and the police chief-- a huge and unnoticed power of those offices. I'm not sure how Measure Q would have been enforced if it had won, though one way is simply by declaring to the police chief, whose job is, I expect, ultimately up to the pleasure of the voters, what his masters' desires are.
Posted by erasmuse at November 7, 2004 03:15 AM
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