Fayetteville Cracks Down on Prostitution

Residents and legitimate business owners in the area are teaming up with police to clean up their neighborhood.

Prostitutes and transvestites used to line Bragg boulevard with many openly soliciting their services.

Local business owners and people living in the area say the prostitution problem was out of control. In fact, one resident shot an amateur video to show police and city leaders what was going on.

"Well there was prostitutes up and down the street day or night, and some of them dress very provocatively," resident Joe Harrill said.

In order to rid the streets of prostitutes police and almost 50 business owners have entered into trespassing agreements.

"What we've seen on the boulevard for several years is prostitutes and people soliciting their business while in parking lots," Fayetteville Police Capt. Bill Simons said.

The agreement means any individual in the crackdown area who is caught on a business property after that business has closed can be arrested and cited for trespassing. The effort has helped make the streets safe again.

"At nighttime it's just as quiet as it is in the country," business owner John Edge said. "There's nothing walking around, it's pretty nice."

Business owners say as long as the police patrol the area and continue to prosecute, the prostitutes will stay away.

The trespassing agreement has been in effect for two weeks, and police say they have handed out dozens of citations.

Police warn that anyone arrested for trespassing on Bragg boulevard could be hauled off to jail. Trespassers will also face an $80 fine. Investigators said that they will track prostitutes and their customers, by taking fingerprints and mug shots. If they find habitual trespassers, the fines could be much higher.