Ronald Weitzer

Ronald Weitzer (born 1952) is an American sociologist specializing in criminology and a professor at George Washington University, known for his publications on police-minority relations and on the sex industry.

Weitzer has authored a number of papers on the sex industry, with a focus on laws and policies regarding prostitution and sex trafficking.

He published a 1999 article evaluating US policies as well as a 2009 study of prostitution in Western Australia, whose state legislature voted to legalize brothel and escort prostitution in 2008.

New Zealand scores well, as does Queensland, Australia, where a 2004 government assessment concluded that its legal brothels "provide a sustainable model for a healthy, crime-free, and safe legal licensed brothel industry" and are a "state of the art model for the sex industry in Australia."

While positive outcomes are by no means automatic or guaranteed, Weitzer finds that legal, well-regulated prostitution can be superior to blanket criminalization.

Blanket decriminalization and government regulation of prostitution is not currently possible in the United States.

Given this, Weitzer advocates what he calls a "two-track" policy toward enforcement of prostitution laws.

One track involves intensified law enforcement of street prostitution (targeting both street prostitutes and their customers), arguing that street prostitution victimizes host communities and leaves the prostitutes themselves open to victimization.

The second track involves what he calls "de facto decriminalization" of indoor prostitution, that is, the non-enforcement by police departments of laws against various forms of indoor prostitution, such as escort services, massage parlors, and brothels, even while such laws stay on the books.

Weitzer holds that these kinds of activities typically have little effect on the surrounding community and that enforcing laws against such practices involves time-consuming sting operations that waste police resources.

Weitzer argues that this two track approach reflects public preferences regarding the proper focus of law enforcement, is a more efficient use of law enforcement resources, and is guided by the principle of harm reduction.

Indoor prostitution is quite different from street prostitution.

Weitzer views street prostitution as a serious social problem.

Many streetwalkers are underage or runaways or homeless or economically distressed—selling sex out of desperation and for reasons of survival.

They are at high risk of drug abuse and victimization and street prostitution has a negative impact on surrounding communities.

The push factors that lead individuals into street prostitution (such as poverty, drug addiction, or being runaways from abusive parents) will not be alleviated if street prostitution is decriminalized.

At the same time, it is clear that arrests, fines, and incarceration do little to address the root causes of street prostitution.

In 2012 he published a book on legal prostitution systems, Legalizing Prostitution: From Illicit Vice to Lawful Business.

The book is based on Weitzer's review of studies of legal prostitution in various nations (New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, and the US state of Nevada) as well as his own research on Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Weitzer notes that the notion of "legal prostitution" is not monolithic: it varies considerably from place to place.

First, nations differ in the kinds of prostitution that they permit.

Some allow brothels only, others restrict it to escort services, while others allow only independent operators (i.e., those who are self-employed and have no connection to a third-party manager or business establishment).

A few societies, such as New Zealand, permit all types of consensual adult prostitution, but most continue to criminalize street prostitution because it is considered more risky and more of a public nuisance than indoor prostitution.

In addition, in places where the trade has been decriminalized, at least some types of participants remain illegal.

For example, minors are not allowed to work legally, exploitative pimping and trafficking are outlawed, and some societies prohibit migrants or persons infected with HIV from working legally.

So, even where prostitution has been decriminalized and is now government-regulated, some types of participants are excluded from the legal regime.

Second, nations differ in the kinds of regulations imposed on legal actors.

Some restrict it to designated parts of the city, while others allow it to be more dispersed.

Some mandate regular health examinations to check for STDs.

Some require condom use, while others simply encourage it.

Some require sex workers to be registered with the authorities, although this is widely opposed by the workers, who fear that this information may become publicly available.

Most require business owners (of brothels, escort agencies, saunas) to be licensed, and the authorities conduct periodic site visits to ensure that the regulations are being followed.

Where such licensing exists, officials often screen applicants to make sure that they have no criminal record nor connections to organized crime.

Legalizing Prostitution examines a wide variety of regulations that differ from nation to nation.

One of Weitzer's objectives is to assess which kinds of regulations are (1) most sensible, (2) most likely to win public support, (3) best suited to reducing risks and harms, and (4) most likely to preserve public order.

There is much room for debate here, and each nation that has legalized prostitution has had to grapple with these difficult questions.

Weitzer's book advocates about 30 "best practices" that he thinks should be taken into account by any nation considering legalization.

The first step, he writes, is that "consensual adult prostitution be officially recognized as work and that participants be accorded the rights and protections available to those involved in other occupations".

The book also evaluates existing legal systems.

While no system is problem-free, Weitzer finds that several have registered a good measure of success.