Legal red-light districts 'just won't work'

Plans to create toleration zones for prostitutes have been sharply criticised by the police.

Senior officers have warned that official red-light areas will not work and will do little to reduce the exploitation of sex workers.

It is the first time police have spoken out against the proposed zones - and is likely to kill off the plan.

The formalised red-light districts were one idea put forward in a Home Office consultation on prostitution laws.

Ministers plan sweeping reforms of the law, which has not been updated for decades. Several cities including Liverpool, Doncaster and Glasgow expressed an interest in toleration zones, where prostitutes and their clients could operate without fear of arrest.

The consultation deadline has now been extended after the ministry was flooded with responses.

Supporters of the toleration scheme say it would allow the sex trade to be monitored and reduce the stigma associated with prostitution. They say health centres and support groups for sex workers could be set up in the zones, reducing risk for the women involved.

However, police say evidence from other countries suggests the limits do not work.

According to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, police believe women will still be exploited. Experience from abroad suggests illegal prostitution carries on beside zones.

In Holland, some toleration zones have already closed because this defeats their object.