Today Steve Wright (not the Radio 1 DJ) was found guilty of the five prostitute murders which occurred in December 2006 in Suffolk England. Sentencing is Friday.

Even rotting in jail is too good for him!

oh, fret yee not fellas..

be well assured his time in prison will be absolute hell, tough lags detest kiddie fiddlers and men who abuse and murder women.

Surprising the name The Suffolkator never caught on.

Peter Sutcliffe will be eligible for parole soon. Doubt he'll get it though.

I don't suppose anyone's dared to mention in the UK media that the girls would have been a whole lot safer if they'd been able to work in a legal brothel, privee, escort agency or kamer.

Unfortunately this country doesn't have the same liberal attitude to sex.

There are actually plenty of alternatives to streetwalking, just that drug users tend not to be allowed in.

There was an article in the Grauniad (where else) which covered this. It made a point I had not previously thought of: namely that the girls like these who are driven primarily by a serious drug habit struggle to hold down a "regular" job, such as working a shift in a massage parlour. Indeed I think one of the victims in this case had, but lost, a job like this.

I favour proper legalisation of the sex trade, which I think could happen in the UK, however it made me wonder whether the real taboo - legalising drugs - might also be necessary. Is any society ready to legalise heroin? There is an appealing argument that says it would ensure quality (no mixing with dubious fillers), reduce price and therefore crime. I am not convinced myself.

Perhaps nothing would have saved these girls but I would like to see steps to reduce the risks.

Sorry in advance - this is going way off topic...

I think it was Gore Vidal who wrote - and I'm paraphrasing from memory here - that the only sensible drug policy would be to legalise every drug for sale to adults at registered, monitored outlets with no advertising and with full disclosure of all data on the known effects and consequences of each drug, at a state-controlled price that made no profit but included enough of a margin to fund related health-care and rehabilitation facilities.

Of course there would still be people who would fuck themselves up. But at least they wouldn't be driven to crime or prostitution to feed the habit. There would be no drug lords, no drug-inspired street crime, nothing for the DEA and similar heavy police state powers to do, just some work for the Health and Education sectors instead.

That would be the only sensible policy, unless as a government you have a different motive, a hidden agenda. One about power, about dominance, about installing a police state with the simpering approval of the conservative masses. Then it would be a very good idea to make a lot of things illegal, and empower the police to do selective law-enforcement. The rich get off, the scumbag politicians and lobbyists have their coke and their hookers, the poor get targeted and the middle get intimidated into doing what they're told. If the police can jail you for having a spec of something that lots of people use, then you'd better step back into line and do what they tell you.

My cynical side even thinks that a periodic rampage of murder might be welcomed by those wishing to extend their control. Or the recently reported one-sided gunfight in NYC outside a strip club.

Long may the Netherlands maintain its brave experiment in sense, in the face of who knows how much international pressure behind the scenes from The Dominators.

Magoo

I thought i was told here that prostitution is legal in the UK if it does not involve solitciting on the streets.For instance if you go to a massage parlor or use escorts it,s legal to the point where cops cannot arrest the customer or provider.

I just remembered as i,m writing,a few years ago a person i knew then who was from the UK(Glasgow,Scotland)did say something similiar-that it,s legal to the same as in NL as long as your not in public,not like in the US except in Neveda where they can get you anytime whether on the streets or escorts if they wanted to.Or is that only in Scotland?

Prostitution in the United Kingdom is not formally illegal, but several activities surrounding it are outlawed.

Basically, you can pay a woman (or man) for sex however the following are illegal:
* street-walking,
* kerb-crawling (i.e. client seeking a prostitute on a street from a car),
* brothels,
* pimping,
* and, of course, minors, people trafficking, etc.

In short, a woman/man can work (alone) from her/his own premises, or out-call as an escort.

I am not sure of the situation with regard to massage parlours. Obviously they are at risk of being classed as brothels and owners as pimps. No doubt they have strategies to reduce these. Probably also some tolerance from the authorities as they take some business off the streets.

AFAIK there are no significant differences between England/Wales and Scotland.