Police who led a crackdown on underage prostitution in South Auckland want parents and caregivers of young teenagers to take greater responsibility for the safety of their children.
Counties Manukau Police arrested 25 people during an operation focussed on under-aged prostitution in South Auckland. Sixteen children - some as young as 13 - were taken off the streets by police and either returned to their families or placed in the care of Child Youth and Family.
But during the operation, police discovered some of the same girls working back on the streets within days of initially being removed.
They want caregivers to take a greater interest in their children's wellbeing.
"A strong starting point would be parents and caregivers taking more interest in the safety and wellbeing of their children before it is too late for these young persons lives to be ruined by this criminal activity" Detective Senior Sergeant Pizzini says.
He says many of the teenagers were being solicited by gangs, and were being given methamphetamine in return for sexual favours.
"This is not a stand alone operation as other anti-social and criminal activity such as street violence and drug dealing are closely linked," says Pizzini.
Twenty five men were arrested in the operation and face a raft of charges including sex with minors and drug and alcohol offences.
"Men engaging in this activity are put on notice that they will be arrested, and may well receive visits from the Police at their homes or work place" says Pizzini.
Flawed law?
Lobby group Family First believes the operation's results show that the prostitution law is flawed and needs to be rewritten.
"MP's need a reality check on just how destructive this industry is," says Family First NZ National Director of Bob McCoskrie.
"The decriminalisation of prostitution has failed prostitutes by encouraging them to think that prostitution can be safe - which it can never be. But now the law is also failing our communities and young people."
Manukau City Mayor Len Brown agrees that the law needs to be reviewed.
Brown claims the Prostitution Reform Act has failed sex workers by encouraging them to think prostitution can be safe, but that is not the case, because of the problem of drug dealers who are also on the streets.
He says to some extent the legislation has legitimised prostitution.
"I want our government to be aware of the fact that this is not a perfect piece of legislation and that changes need to be made and we need to make them now."
Brown says Manukau City had asked the government to review the legislation but MPs would not make changes just for one region. He says prostitution is a challenge for many councils and the government must rise to that challenge.
But the Prostitutes Collective says the issue of young people on the streets is not a new one.
Spokesperson Callum Bennachie says there have been youths out on the streets for decades, and the problem has increased because of growth in the population.
The Collective does not believe there is a wide spread problem of under aged workers and says it works closely with police to try to stop young people from turning tricks.
