Prostitution may be hard to spot in Waterloo region but it's happening on our streets and often. So often police say, laying charges every day is impossible and not a solution. Sergeant John Van Breda and Detective Constable Graham Hawkins have been patrolling regional streets and dealing with the local sex trade for years. In Cambridge, they know many of the girls by name.
The sex trade operates 24 hours a day, mainly police say in a concentrated area around Walnut and Wellington streets. Unlike what's seen in the movies, high heels, short skirts and lots of make-up are rarely seen here.
Instead the girls are wearing track pants hoodies and ratty jeans. Police say the majority are trying to feed their own dangerous habit.
Oxy, coccaine, heroin, the women are in so deep, to many it seems impossible to get out. Inside is a man in his 60s, there's a car seat in the back and police are told the agreement was 40 dollars for oral sex.
This incident is just one incident, in one neighbourhood, on one night. Police say keeping a close watch on all of the girls and busting up potentialdeals, is a full time job. Sex trade workers and prospective johns are finding each other everyday in the downtowns of Kitchener and Cambridge. However in all of , Waterloo Regional police laid only 51 prostitution related chargesand 45 the year before. Police say they do carry out undercover stings every few months and respond to community complaints.
