There are two ongoing sting operations designed to crack down on south Florida's prostitution problem. One operation targets the hookers. The other detail targets the men who solicit their services. The problem is the worst along 79th Street and Biscayne Boulevard in Miami. It seems no matter what police officers do, there is little that can be done to eradicate the problem which is why the men keep soliciting women and vice versa. Caught in the middle of this vicious circle is a community trying to rebuild.
CBS4 went along for an undercover sting operation to see, first hand, how the problem has plagued a community. We saw the men excusing their behavior and the women providing little excuses for a life they have chosen to lead.
As a result, there are two sides creating one persistent problem. At one point, we were there as one man in a black truck kept circling the block eyeing the undercover female police officer posing as a prostitute. He was busted for soliciting a prostitute. A recovery that ended tonight when Simon admitted he was on his way to a sex addict meeting when he pulled over for the undercover police officer posing as a prostitute.
Supplying his demand are women like Spirit Long who was interviewed by Estevez after her own arrest that night as part of a different sting operation. I was homeless and selling my body to make money and survive," said Long.
But as history repeats itself, the outcome will most likely not have a happy ending for the people involved in the cycle of paying for sex. In , police arrested people involved in prostitution. In , that number grew to people. In , police arrested So far this year, in , police nabbed people.
