Legalization of Prostitution

Approximately one million American women are working, or have previously worked as prostitutes (“Prostitution in The United States,” par. 1); furthermore, 70% of adult men have engaged in prostitution at least once (“Prostitution in The United States,” par. 9). Prostitution is the oldest profession which boasts a never-ending supply of willing buyers and sellers. Prostitution can never be eradicated so it should be legalized and controlled. The legalization of prostitution would produce positive results such as, but not limited to, increased police time and resources, fewer cases of HIV and a safer environment for prostitutes and their children. In addition, legalization would also allow prostitutes to exercise their basic human rights and personal liberties.

Police time and resources are essential to the community, but expensive to the taxpayer. The way in which police allocate their time and resources has long been the subject of acrimonious debate, with many people believing that police do not devote nearly enough time to 'serious' crimes such as the murders, rapes and organized crimes which thwart towns and cities. Legalizing prostitution would release a lot of police time which could be redirected into the aforementioned areas. The fact is that a large portion of police resources are tied up in dealing with prostitution. Average arrest, court and incarceration costs are $2,000 per arrest (“Prostitution in The United States,” par. 12), not to mention the number of man-hours involved in apprehending a prostitute, which are substantial because of complicated entrapment issues and other legalities. After prostitutes are shuffled through this expensive justice system, they pay their fines and go straight back onto the streets in a 'revolving door' cycle which clearly illustrates that the current justice system is not a deterrent anyway (“The Legalization of,” par. 3). On average, cities spend 7.5 million dollars on prostitution control every year, ranging from one million dollars in Memphis to an enormous 23 million dollars in New York (“Prostitution in The United States,” par. 12). This is a vast amount to spend on what is essentially a victimless crime with an ineffective solution. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to conclude that this money could be better spent elsewhere; it is likely that victims of serious crimes and their families would agree.

Another reason to favor legalized prostitution is disease control. Roughly half of the street prostitutes in New York and Washington, D.C., are HIV-positive and in Newark, New Jersey, this number is closer to 60% (“The Case for Legalized,” par. 3). By coupling these alarming statistics with the fact that roughly one in every six American men has engaged in sex with a prostitute within the last five years (“The Case for Legalized,” par. 2), it is not difficult to see why the number of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases continues to soar. In Nevada, however, there has never been an instance of a licensed prostitute testing positive for a sexually transmitted disease (“The Case for Legalized,” par. 3). All licensed, legal bordellos insist on regular disease testing which ...