Working 'Girls' Stymie Police And Neighbors

Residents Of Old Goucher Seek Solution For Long-standing Problem

Gibson pointed out that the zones don't work and that judges and prosecutors question their legality. The cops still have to prove the people they arrest are loitering for the purpose of prostitution to make the arrest valid.

"A man dressed up as a woman and standing on the corner," the officer told the group, "even though it's obvious what he is doing, is not against the law." Moving them off the corners, the officer said, "we're not going to get a whole lot of results from that. They don't move to New Jersey. They're right back out here."

Police did a sting a few weeks ago and arrested six people they say work as prostitutes, but that takes time and planning - and even when officers catch someone agreeing to exchange sex for money, convictions usually lead to nothing more than probation.

The officer also pointed out that the prostitutes themselves are often victims of crime. They are held up at gunpoint, robbed by customers, and many suffer from disease, drug addiction and mental problems. There's talk of a prostitution court, much like the city's drug court, that could offer alternative punishments and help at the same time.

"It's a very difficult problem, it really is," Gibson told the group.

Why the prostitutes have settled here is unclear. They tend to stick to the residential streets such as Calvert and St. Paul and avoid the commercial strip of Charles Street, perhaps because they feel safer among homeowners - even if the homeowners don't feel safe among them.