A Southern California mayor has been left grappling with a major headache as he claimed prostitutes wearing only G-strings have been freely prowling the streets following recent changes to the law.
National City mayor Ron Morrison claims the situation in his town has been spiralling out of control since the lifting of an old regulation that allowed police to intervene to stop loitering with the intent to engage in prostitution.
And a new law has also banned officers from issuing citations to anyone suspected of soliciting sex based on their appearance – a change Morrison claims has resulted in sex workers walking around the town with close to no clothes.
The frustrated mayor said: “Police can’t literally go and talk to them because they don’t have a right to talk to them because they are not doing anything wrong for loitering for prostitution.
“Even if they are going out talking to someone in their car and sitting there when all they are wearing is less than a G-string.”
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The changes were introduced this year after Gavin Newsom approved Senate Bill 357 last summer but Morrison is now warning scantily-clad women have been routinely soliciting around the town.
The mayor has also alleged that prostitution around the state of California has expanded.
He told CBS8: “The moment it was signed by the governor, boom, everyone knew the rules were out the window.
“Those that are out there on the street, most of them are wearing less than what you would consider a scanty negligee.
“It is just flaunting in everybody’s face. And so a lot of people are screaming, ‘Hey, you know, can’t you get them on indecent exposure?'”
Morrison took particular issue with the current wording of the rules, suggesting the current definition of indecent exposure is not providing the community with the necessary protection.
Speaking to Fox News, he added: “I was driving on one of the streets the other day, and there’s this young lady standing there in the middle of the street wearing basically a G-string. But she’s right in front of my car, I couldn’t move.
‘So, I did ask her very politely, “Would you please move out of the street?” And she looked at me and says, ‘If you don’t want to talk to me, you can go around’.”
The National City mayor also suggested the change to the law makes it more difficult for officers to check in on sex workers who could be underage or being abused.
He cited the case of a pregnant prostitute who was allegedly kidnapped, beaten and raped only a few weeks ago.
Morrison has also noted local businesses have increasingly sounded the alarm as the presence of prostitutes has driven clients away.
