How many arrests were there for prostitution in Worcester, MA in 2011? 2010? 2009?
How many convictions were there for prostitution in Worcester, MA in 2011? 2010? 2009?
Councilor Barbara Haller doesn’t know, nor does Mayor Joseph O’Brien. Yet they want you to believe it’s out of control. Heck, even the District Attorney’s office doesn't know.
Worcester Police Dept. seems not to know either. Read the last publicly reported crime statistics from the WPD from 2008 - we're doing sumptin, but it ain't a priority. With a $38 million IT budget, seems they can't scrape enough together to get software for stats reporting. Actually they do, but it’s been on the blink for the last two years.
In any case, there were 222 arrests in 2008, 214 in 2007, 178 in 2006. Reads like an epidemic to some, but relative to a population of circa 200,000 law abiding citizens and reckless college students, it's really a non-issue. Yet Haller and O’Brien see that differently; deflecting from the real issues in Main South - the murders, robberies and rapes.
In 2008 there were 1,341 drug violation arrests, 690 assaults, 1,186 disorderly conduct. A total of 3,217 arrests. More disconcerting are the 36 rapes, 39 armed robberies, and 12 murders. I wonder how many of those crimes took place in Main South (District 4), home to Barbara Haller, Mayor Joseph O’Brien and neighborhood activist William Breault, aka Bill Breault. But they’re not complaining about the really serious crimes - rape, murder and robbery. Just about a handful of prostitutes. To put it in perspective, 222 arrests is hardly an issue.
So how many convictions were there for prostitution in 2010? A perusal of the DAs website yields nothing. No statistics whatsoever. Even the DA thinks it's a non-issue.
Or what about the nightly escapades at Green Hill Park? What about the male prostitutes or are they in fact just harmless fun seekers invading Green Hill at dusk? Not a peep out of City Hall or Councilor Phil Palmieri (his district). Mayor Joseph O’Brien doesn’t have an issue with it cause it ain't Main South, where he lives. Haller just mouths off looking for attention, ignoring the robberies, rapes and murders.
Okay, jump on your time machine and let's go to the not-to-distant-past and visit the Paris Cinema controversy. How long did the City of Worcester allow the sexual indiscretions at the Paris Cinema, the porno cinema on Front St., next to City Hall, to take place? Only 300 feet from their backdoor. For years the city knew what was going on there. It was even in the T&G. It took place in Haller's district but she said and did nothing.
Election season posturing that's for sure. They won’t talk about robberies, rape and murder, but they'll try and make an issue out of a victimless crime. There are bigger issues out there. Taxes for instance, but this is what those two want you to think is even bigger. Smoke & mirrors?
Are we really that gullible? They think so.
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