Ipswich Police Defeat Street Prostitution by Targeting Clients

The University of East Anglia has praised a crackdown on prostitution in Ipswich after five sex-workers were murdered in the area.

After closely studying the strategy put in place by Suffolk Police, researchers said it could be repeated elsewhere with good effective.

The crackdown comes after five prostitutes were murdered in 2006, Steve Wright, of Ipswich, was jailed for the killings.

Dr Fiona Poland, who led the UEA research team, said: "What worked particularly well was the drive to cut out on-street prostitution by targeting the clients - and not the sex workers themselves.

"We found no evidence that the problem had moved on to the streets beyond Ipswich.

"The joined-up approach of all the agencies involved mean that they now have a clearer strategy to tackle off-street working, trafficking and to identify both young people at risk and their potential abusers."

They found that the cost of supporting each victim was around £7,000, which compared to the cost of intervention which stands at about £80,000 per year is a decent saving. They also factored in the potential cost of criminal justice proceedings.

Det Supt Alan Caton, of Suffolk police, said: "Together, we have eliminated on-street prostitution from Ipswich without displacing it elsewhere, while helping some of the most vulnerable people in our society get their lives back on track.

"However, the report gives us useful information on where we need to strengthen our partnership and focus our efforts in the future - and this will be key to the success of our new strategy in the years ahead."