Prince George’s County Police Department: Public Shaming Won’t Work

Last week, the Prince George’s County (Maryland) Police Department announced they would live Tweet an upcoming prostitution sting operation, sharing photos of clients using the #PGPDVice hashtag. The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) immediately contacted the Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD) Chief Mark Magaw expressing our concern and calling on the department to drop this harsh, public shaming effort and instead engage with sex workers and local advocates on positive steps to address crimes against sex workers and related issues.

Our letter to PGPD states that broad stings and public shaming are regressive tactics that don’t decrease prostitution or address any of the issues associated with it. Instead, it feeds the stigma and fear that make sex workers vulnerable to robberies, assaults, and even abuse by police themselves. While PGPD has been quick to clarify that it won’t be tweeting photos of sex workers, only their customers, we respond: “Targeting sex workers’ customers isn’t any better–it further instills fear and makes it harder for sex workers to protect themselves by screening clients.”

NCTE Director of Policy Harper Jean Tobin said, “We were proud to work with the Prince George’s Police Department recently on a national transgender training program for law enforcement, and we’re glad that PGPD has expressed it is concerned about the exploitation and abuse of sex workers. But this type of crass shaming tactic is not the right way to act on that concern. NCTE urges Chief Magaw to scrap this unwise plan and work with sex workers and their advocates to develop more meaningful approaches to promoting public safety and health.”

Photo Credit: Steve Rhodes/Flickr

Dept. of Justice Unveils Transgender Law Enforcement Training

Yesterday, US Department of Justice (DOJ) Associate Attorney General Tony West launched the Transgender Law Enforcement Training, a first-of-its kind cultural competency training by a federal agency for local law enforcement.

With input from the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and other local and national organizations, the new training will help local authorities improve their interactions with transgender people. Ultimately, the training aims to prevent mistreatment and restore trust between police officers and transgender people who have often faced profiling and violence from law enforcement.

Photo: Ruby Corado