Some Data and Numbers Regarding Prostitution Arrests in Seattle
I downloaded a file from the City of Seattle regarding reported crime from SPD records going back to 2008. It was very recently updated with offense dates up to September 18th. I loaded said file into a database platform and did some quick analysis on the purchasing prostitution offenses. For some reason the file only has data going back to 2016 regarding these specific offenses, but it was an interesting quick look nonetheless. Keep in mind this was very quick simple analysis, I plan to look deeper when I have more time. Also, I'd like to examine arrests involving providers. Perhaps some of you might find it useful, it definitely satisfied my curiosity and confirmed my assumptions thus far.
But here's a quick look -.
There have been 33 total arrests in 2023 thus far. All of those arrests occurred along Aurora Ave, specifically the 125th block of Aurora which is the parking lot where Lowe's / Krispy Kreme / Jack in the Box is located. I don't think any of that information would surprise any of us who've been reading this forum the past couple of years. I myself have seen two stings go down in that lot as have others who've reported to the forum. The most common timeframe for those busts is between 6 pm and 9 pm, with a few outliers around 12 am. Weekdays between Monday and Wednesday were the only days on which these arrests seemed to occur. Busts seemed to have stopped after very late June, but they could start up again. There are girls still working the Lowe's lot, and based upon the information in the data I'd just stay the hell out of there. I'm guessing that SPD could start targeting the 100 blocks again as a lot of girls have been working south. But I'd avoid talking to SWs in large parking lots, SPD seems to like those for staging stings and the data seems to indicate that I'm correct.
But just for interest and curiosity, here are the numbers for previous recent years starting in 2019 -.
In 2019 there were 87 arrests, the highest number out of the previous four years. The vast majority of those busts occurred in the Northgate area, including Bitterlake and Greenwood, along the Aurora corridor. Of those, the majority of busts occurred on the 100 block of Aurora Ave, in what I'm guessing is the parking lot of the small plaza behind the bus stop on the southbound side or possibly the parking lot of Oaktree Plaza. The second-highest number of arrests occurred on the 135th block of Aurora, near the Office Depot or the parking lot of the plaza where Seattle Supplements is located across the street. After that it looks as though a few arrests happened at the Nexus hotel on Northgate Way. From there the numbers drop-off dramatically to a few locations near Pioneer Square / International District.
2020 was comparatively calm with only 21 arrests for the entire year, the majority of those again occurring along Aurora Ave around the 135th block of Aurora. The rest were spread-out among the 125th block and 100 blocks farther south. A few in South Park in south Seattle as well as the International District.
Things picked-up in 2021 with 30 arrests, again with the majority of arrests being along the Aurora corridor. Most of the arrests seemed to occur on the 125th block of Aurora, with the remainder being the 130 blocks and the 100 blocks. Interestingly, there were additional one-off arrests in Queen Anne, Lake Union and Capitol Hill.
2022 was about the same in terms of numbers to 2021 at 28, however all of the busts for the year occurred on the 125th block of Aurora with one outlier being on Vine St.