NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Friday that his office is tossing out more than 250 warrants related to prostitution—and that he plans to vacate an additional 850 warrants dating back to the 1970s.
In a press release, Gonzalez said he was moving to vacate open bench warrants related to prostitution and loitering for the purposes of prostitution.
That includes 262 warrants dating back to 2012 that were vacated this week and their underlying cases dismissed. Of those warrants, 183 were for prostitution and 79 were loitering for the purposes of prostitution.
Gonzalez said there are also about 850 additional warrants dating from 2011 to the 1970s that are archived and "cannot be currently accessed because of the COVID-19 pandemic."
"They will be dismissed at the earliest possible time and any arrests made on those warrants will not be prosecuted," he said.
Gonzalez said he was taking the action for several reasons, including that he no longer prosecutes the charges and that the warrants have "powerful negative consequences for the individual" and "undermine public safety."
"Because someone with an open warrant is subject to arrest at any time, those engaged in the selling of sex are more likely to be driven underground and be less likely to report abuse or other crimes, which makes both them and others less safe," the district attorney said.
He also pointed to the fact that an outstanding warrant could show up years after it was issued during a background check for an apartment rental or job application, "hamstringing someone's ability to move on from their past to a more stable and less dangerous way of life."
"Vacating these warrants and dismissing these cases is consistent with my view that those who engage in these activities need to be offered assistance, not criminally prosecuted," Gonzalez said.
The Brooklyn's DA office has been dismissing the cases of those charged with engaging in prostitution, instead referring people to services that include therapeutic counseling, medical assistance and checkups, educational services, housing assistance, mental health or substance abuse screening and therapy, and legal assistance with immigration, children's services or family court issues.
Gonzalez also called on state legislators to repeal the loitering for the purposes of prostitution law. A bill to repeal the law is currently pending in the state Legislature.
Gonzalez pointed to the "vagueness" of the loitering law and the "stark racial inequalities in its enforcement," as well as the "disproportionate harm that enforcement of the law has caused to vulnerable trans women in our community."
Gonzalez also wants to see past prostitution-related convictions expunged. He said there are 25,575 convictions in Brooklyn for prostitution and the related loitering law that he'd like to see expunged en masse via a bill passed by legislators.
