At the top of last Friday’s front page, the Wisconsin State Journal elected to run a story detailing the arrests of 57 men for soliciting prostitution on Badger Road in Madison. The arrests were a result of an eight-month investigation, led by officer Jeff Pharo, of a Web site that hosted a discussion forum for customers of Madison prostitutes. From the Web site, Pharo was able to gather valuable details about the men, including vehicle descriptions and soliciting habits.

I am not one to skip out on a toast, but if somebody raises one to the Madison police fulfilling their duty to protect and serve, my glass is staying down. I do not take issue with the work of individual officers; in fact, Pharo’s ingenuity is to be commended. But I do take issue with arresting these 57 men and, directly or indirectly, shutting down the offending Web site.

By bringing an end to the existence of the forum, the police force is actually exacerbating the problems that people list as inherent to the prostitution industry. As criminologist Tim Holt points out in the Wisconsin State Journal article, users of these forums shared knowledge of prices, available services and potential risks, including sexually transmitted diseases.

The problem with prostitution stems from the fact that it is illegal, not that it is the exchange of money for sex. Society likes to scoff at the depravity of those who would dare to actually pay for sex, all the while buying flattering clothing, driving expensive vehicles, and covering the bill at expensive restaurant with the same desired end result, namely an enjoyable romantic romp with a coveted sexual partner. Making prostitution a crime deprives people of their right to ownership of their own bodies; in a free land, that principle should trump all others. Posters on this forum were attempting to close an important gap that is always present in the black market: a lack of information.

Making something illegal does not make it go away, but it will make it more dangerous. In the same way that heroin addicts gamble each time they purchase the drug without knowing its potency or chemical composition, a customer of a prostitute is gambling that he will not acquire an STD or fall victim to a violent robbery. In addition, those dealing in the black market who find themselves in a potentially dangerous situation are necessarily discouraged from going to the police, for fear of self-incrimination.

This online forum that led to the arrests in Madison was, besides a creepy corner of the Internet, a valuable exercise in harm reduction. Posters on these forums were hell-bent on finding a prostitute, but without information supplied by the forum, they will enter these transactions blindly and dangerously. In arresting these “criminals,” Madison Police succeeded in making prostitution in the city more violent and perilous than it was before.