Metro gets Tropicana businesses involved in prostitution fight

The mile-and-a-half stretch of Tropicana Avenue between Decatur Boulevard and Interstate 15 has long been notorious among police for its abundance of prostitutes.

For years, Las Vegas police have battled the corridor and several others like it by arresting the prostitutes, hoping some extra enforcement might scare the business away.

But little ever changed, according to Capt. Brian Greenway, who oversees Metro's vice unit. That is until things hit a tipping point one night in February, when Metro picked up a girl they say was selling sex.

She was only 11 years old, Greenway said.

Seeing such a young child being used as a prostitute was "disgusting and repulsive," Greenway said. And Metro had to do more.

A bill signed into Nevada law in 2013 goes after pimps who force children into prostitution. Operation Derail, launched June 8, is another tool Greenway said Metro is using to clamp down on the industry and rescue those underage victims along the Tropicana corridor, less than a half mile from the Strip.

Metro is getting businesses that line the busy street to become more involved in stemming the problem, Greenway said. Many have put up chain-link fences near the sidewalks so the girls and women can't duck into the dark parking lots when they see a patrol car. Several businesses have also actively been calling Metro when they see prostitutes working.

Since the start of the operation, Metro has found 11 girls just in that corridor and entered them into a program that essentially waives the criminal charges and instead puts them into a rehabilitation and reform process through juvenile court. Valleywide, Metro has gotten 85 juveniles away from their traffickers and pimps so far this year, Greenway said.

With the success of the initiative, Metro is planning to expand it to other areas known for prostitution, including Las Vegas Boulevard and Boulder Highway, Greenway said.

One of the challenges faced by police, though, is that many of the girls don't want help, according to Vice Lt. Trish Spencer.

"We're seen as the enemy in the beginning," she said.

Often, the girls think they are "in love" with the person who is trafficking them, Spencer said. The pimps and traffickers offer them things they may not have had, which can range from money, cars and a luxurious lifestyle to something as simple as stability and a place to sleep.

"That has become their family support as they know it, so when we intercede, we're kind of taking away the only stability they feel," Spencer said. "It's not true, but it's their perception."

Other times, the girls are kidnapped, beaten and forced into the industry, Greenway said.

"They are in my opinion, the worst of the worst," Greenway said of the sex traffickers. "They prey on kids for money."

As for the people coming to Las Vegas to pay for sex?

"Go to another community," Greenway said. "We are not going to tolerate this."

Contact reporter Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Find him on Twitter: @ColtonLochhead