Sheffield top cop says force would rather see sex workers employed in saunas than 'pop-up brothels' or on streets

Detective Superintendent Nikki Leach said the force’s ‘number one objective’ in their strategy around sex work is the ‘safeguarding’ of vulnerable men and women who are at risk of exploitation.

Another facet of South Yorkshire Police’s approach centres around ‘risk management,’ continued Det Supt Leach, explaining that if a sex worker is employed in establishments they can ‘engage with’ it means they can ‘risk assess’ and ensure ‘safe practices are going on’.

“If we talk about on street sex work those women are more likely to become victims to exploitation because they're likely have a pimp at the back of them that's taking them to where they need to work, taking some money off them. They’re more likely to become a victim of crime through the kind of on street work that they're doing. Be it violence, be it rape or something like that,” said Det Supt Leach, who is South Yorkshire Police’s force lead for modern slavery and also works in its Sheffield command team.

She added: “If they’re working in an establishment that we can engage with, that we can risk assess, we can have communication with to make sure safe practices are going on. We can have the NHS involved in that, we can have NGOs [non-governmental organisations working for a charitable purpose] involved. That’s a much better way for us to reduce the vulnerability and reduce the risk of those females becoming victims to exploitation.”

“We know where these locations are, they have to be licensed if they're going to sell alcohol, there are certain conditions that we can put on in relation to those licensing, in relation to CCTV and that kind of thing."

Det Supt Leach says the force has previously used legislation to shut down ‘saunas’, one of which was based in Attercliffe Common, and has brought prosecutions for the offence of managing a brothel.

She says the force would be prepared to take that step if they received intelligence that exploitation, drug taking or an increase in crime or antisocial behaviour was connected to a premises where sex work was taking place.

The impact of a sauna or brothel being forced to close is something the force considers carefully, however.

“What that does is then forces us those women who are working in that type of work out – either onto the street or into what we call a pop-up brothel. The thing about a pop-up brothel is they're in hidden locations, we don't know where they are. Often in a residential premises - and we don't get to find about one so about them until they’re reported to us by a member of the public,” said Det Supt Leach.

The Star asked Det Supt Leach about the Channel 4 documentary, A Very Yorkshire Brothel, centred around the now-defunct City Sauna in Attercliffe, and how a seeming lack of police intervention with such an establishment may have been perceived by members of the public.

"To engage in in sex work within a premises is not actually a crime.”

"I think Rudyard Kipling referred to it as the oldest profession didn't he? There will always be sex work, it will always take place...I don't think we’re going to be in a position where we can manage it away,” she said, adding: “That risk management approach is the most sensible one to protect vulnerable women.”