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From this article it seems like the this program
lets the cops bypass the court part of the criminal
injustice system and just lets the cops arrest the hookers
and deliver them directly to the churches. No trials,
no judges, no juries.
I guess the city of Phoenix could care less about the 1st Amendment and the Arizona Constitution which both forbid government from mixing religion and government. Phoenix prostitutes offered rehab over jail time Posted: Sep 27, 2011 8:16 PM By Elizabeth Erwin - email PHOENIX (KPHO) - Phoenix police said they're sick of seeing the same prostitutes night after night. They've decided the best option might be not to take them off the streets. Sounds strange, right? Typically when Phoenix police officers pick up prostitutes they cuff and arrest them. But they decided to take a different approach: the option of a rehabilitation program. And, they said, it's working. "It was absolutely miserable. Dark, hopeless, being out there and living on the streets," said former prostitute Jeanne Allen. The photo with this story is Jeanne Allen's last mug shot, taken when she was picked up for prostitution yet again six years ago. "It's not the pretty woman that you see on TV," she said. You'd never know the same woman sat down with CBS 5 News. "I am a formerly prostituted woman," Allen said. She proudly shared her story. "I'm a recovered addict, heroin and crack cocaine," she said. Allen carries that mug shot with her as a constant reminder of who she was and who she is today. Allen went through the Catholic Charities Diversion Program. It's the same one women picked up through Project Rose are doing. "The whole idea was sort of skip jail, skip the prosecution part and really recognizing that it just costs a lot to the city and it doesn't seem to be a deterrent," said Arizona State University School of Social Work Associate Professor Dominique Roe-Sepowitz. The Phoenix Police Department teamed up with ASU to help rehabilitate hookers. They picked up more than 50 ladies of the night last week and gave them the option to either go to jail or go through the program. If they chose option B they'd get a hot meal, clothes, medical care, therapy and detox. "If women get supported through the process of getting out of prostitution they get re-arrested much less and they're more successful in their lives," Roe-Sepowitz said. "I remember today what it was like, but I know that I no longer have to live that way," Allen said. Allen is living proof and said sharing her journey helps show it can be done. "And there is life after being a prostituted woman," she said. If the women don't complete the diversion program they're back at square one -- arrested and prosecuted. Phoenix police said they hope the program will keep some of the familiar faces they keep picking up off the streets. Copyright 2011 KPHO. All rights reserved.
Police, ASU offer option to deter prostitution by Ofelia Madrid - Sept. 24, 2011 12:25 AM The Arizona Republic PHOENIX - Phoenix police and Arizona State University have partnered to give prostitutes in Phoenix an alternative to arrest. Through a pilot program called Project Rose, Phoenix officers who arrested prostitutes on Thursday and Friday took them to Bethany Bible Church in central Phoenix, where the women were offered an arrest alternative. The adult prostitutes who met the guidelines, and had no more than four prostitution arrests, were given on-site access to social services, including food, shelter, clothing, health care and detox. Through this program, the prostitutes aren't sent to jail or prosecuted. If they complete the diversion program, which can take up to six months, they avoid the arrest on their record. As of Friday afternoon, about 40 women had signed up for the program, scheduled to last through Friday night. |