The (Wildly Exaggerated) Danger of Keeping Records

Every so often, the cops will take down one of the local escort services, which is usually good for two or three days worth of ink in the local papers (which is, of course, the primary motivation for doing it).

Inevitably — usually as a follow-up item a day or so after the bust is announced — word gets out that police have seized the client list. This revelation is often accompanied by a ‘you know who you are, and you will be hearing from us’ statement. Indeed, following the recent Spokane sting, police even had the unmitigated chutzpah to suggest that “it might be better for clients to contact them before detectives contacted those clients.”

Of course, this is nothing less than a steaming crock of horseshit. Nothing has ever come of being found on an escort service’s client list — and nothing ever will — because, quite simply, it isn’t actionable. Being on such a list is not a crime, nor is it court-usable evidence that a crime was committed. The police make these announcements because they want to scare people which, of course, is how a lot of police officers get their jollies. Unless you are a public figure, there is next to nothing to worry about.

Think about it, and consider this statement by sheriff department spokesman John Urquhart immediately following the high-profile Garden of Eden bust in 2003:

John Urquhart, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said police lack resources to go after all the escort, massage and entertainment businesses. And he said the public tolerates that kind of prostitution more than streetwalkers.

“We have to prioritize what we do,” Urquhart said. “We don’t have the resources, the money and bodies to go after every single crime.”

So, if they don’t have the time and money to go after the escort services, then for damn sure they don’t have time and money to go after the guys on a list of johns — no matter how many ominous-sounding threats they make. I got a real kick out of this one:

…If your name is in their black book, you should expect a visit from a detective, and perhaps criminal charges as well.”

No customers have been charged in the case. The Sheriff’s Office is “still going through the trick book,” said department spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart. He said letters have been sent to people on the list, informing them their name came up in an escort-service investigation and asking them to contact the sheriff. He said they’ve had some responses from lawyers representing people on the list.

But of course, the contents of these “responses from lawyers” wasn’t mentioned, because you can’t print ‘go fuck yourself’ in a family newspaper.