A local Florida community deals with its legion of street walkers, Read the whole story at WPLG.com…

Community Works To Eliminate Prostitution
Officers, NET Crack Down On Crime

Pepe Martinez’s morning routine has been the same for years. He wakes up at 5 a.m., makes a cup of coffee and then looks out his window.

It may not seem very exciting, until he gets to the next step.

“It’s incredible the hour they come out,” Martinez told Local 10’s Sasha Andrade.

The retired man said each day, he watches a pimp drive up his street to drop off a group of prostitutes.

“They move. One goes over here, one goes over there,” said Martinez.

He said it happens smack in the middle of the West Flagler area, whose residents are mostly senior citizens.

“We target this every single day,” said Ana Maria Rodriguez of the city of Miami’s Neighborhood Enhancement Team office.

Rodriguez said prostitution is by far the biggest neighborhood crime problem in the area. She said the city is attacking it two ways. The NET office is working with local motels to eliminate loitering, and to change hourly rates to nightly rates. Police officers are working undercover because it’s hard to arrest prostitutes.

“For standing on the sidewalk legally, you cannot arrest them. You have to catch them in the act,” Rodriguez said.

In the past two to three months, Rodriguez said prostitution has gone down by 80 percent. It’s a relief for longtime retired residents like Martinez and his wife, who want to look out their window in the morning and see peace and quiet.