edders23 wrote:
well if someone involved in pimping is fit and proper what is the world coming to
Not sure precisely what amounts to pimping, but at a rough guess I would have thought that there would need to be a closer relationship and more of an element of control than is suggested in the article above, but of course the piece is pretty sparse on the precise facts of what's going on.
But that's what I was thinking as regards the legality - maybe it's easier to get at the drivers via the fit and proper requirements for taxi licences rather than a criminal prosecution for pimping, which would require a higher burden of proof and all that.
And maybe the police turn a blind eye to such things anyway, which is another reason it's perhaps being addressed via licensing.
According to Wikipedia:
Quote:
"In the United Kingdom, prostitution itself is legal but activities such as pimping and owning or managing a brothel are not. However, the laws are not always strictly enforced. Many brothels in cities such as Manchester and London operate through legitimate businesses which are licensed as "Massage Parlours" and operate under that name. Police forces often turn a blind eye to such establishments."
Also:
Quote:
"In 2005, it was reported that, in Manchester, there were around eighty "massage parlours" which were fronts for prostitution and that the police ignored those establishments, focusing instead on reducing street prostitution. On 12 October 2005, the Manchester Evening News reported that "A self-confessed pimp walked free from court after a judge was told police had 'turned a blind eye' to organised prostitution in massage parlours in Manchester."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massage_parlorSo it would hardly stretch the imagination to think that similar goings on are tolerated in Liverpool.
Of course, whether Liverpool's mayor knows about such things is a moot point - he may just be feigning ignorance, and only acting about something that's well known because it's now being highlighted in the press. I'm sure we all know of official double standards when it comes to the taxi and private hire trades and wider licensing activities, not to mention policing and law enforcement more generally.
In Edinburgh brothels were tolerated for years and so-called 'massage parlours' were licensed as 'public entertainment' venues by the council there, although that's more recently come to an end. The thinking seemed to be that it was better to regulate such activities than to leave them underground and unregulated.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/201 ... rlours-sex
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