By CASEY NEILL
GUTTER crawlers propositioned a 19-year-old girl twice in just seven minutes as she waited for a bus in Scott Street, Dandenong, on a Friday night.
Police are vowing to stamp out prostitution in the area and will start an ongoing operation targeting the practice in the coming weeks.
The Dandenong North teen told the Star she was trying to get home from the gym when she was accosted.
“Within one minute a car drove up to me and two guys asked me ‘how much? How much money for tonight?’,” she said.
“It took them a while until they listened to me and left.
“Two minutes later another car drove past. It slowed down and again tried to proposition me.
“This car drove past me two more times.
“Luckily I had a friend around the corner who took me home, since I didn’t want to wait any longer for the bus.”
Dandenong Sergeant Pat Green said police were not accepting or tolerating this behaviour and had saturated Scott Street with patrols since residents lodged complaints in February this year.
“To complement that we’re going to run a dedicated operation and we’re going to be targeting gutter crawlers – those people soliciting for prostitution – and the prostitutes themselves,” he said.
Sgt Green said police would use the full force of the law against those involved.
“I think it’s important that people understand that there are no excuses,” he said.
“We can’t have people who are doing the right thing being approached buy people soliciting for prostitution.
“It’s just not on.”
He encouraged people to report prostitution to police and said they could remain anonymous.
“If we can build our intelligence base then knowledge is power – it gives us that much to work with,” he said.
On 14 February the Star reported that the growing problem with prostitution in Dandenong had seen a 70-year-old woman propositioned outside her Scott Street home.
The woman’s daughter Patricia said street workers and their pimps were “casually sitting on fences”, being disrespectful to residents and entering private property.
“Fear and discomfort is being instilled,” she said.
“Walking the streets to go to work or shopping is no longer a safe and enjoyable experience.”
Greater Dandenong Local Area Commander Inspector Bruce Kitchen said street prostitution had been a problem in Dandenong for the past seven years.
In 2009 the Star reported that shopkeepers in Thomas Street were calling on police to crack down on prostitution because it was hurting their business.
Insp Kitchen said the workers had gradually moved from business areas into residential streets, and vowed to stamp it out through regular patrols and collecting intelligence.
