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crime1d ago
Major California city takes drastic action to curb street prostitution
- Oakland will pilot temporary water-filled barriers on side streets off International Boulevard to curb street prostitution.
- Council member Charlene Wang said barriers would block side streets near 14th Avenue to push activity onto the main road for police oversight.
- The proposal accompanies an ordinance adding loitering penalties and creating a Human Trafficking Survivor Support Fund.
- Supporters say barriers may aid policing, but some residents worry about parking and traffic impacts along the corridors.
- The pilot is slated to begin in June, following past attempts to install blockades in the city.
- The city previously installed blockades along 16th Avenue as part of similar efforts.
- Wang cited International Boulevard as the main corridor where illegal activity concentrates, with side streets as the focus for barriers.
- The ordinance also targets loitering for commercial sex and expands penalties for sex buyers and traffickers.
- Officials say the barrier plan is an idea with uncertain outcomes and no confirmed success yet.
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