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Feminism: Sex & gender discussions

Monitoring Females in Hotels

3 replies

MsAnnTeak · 02/12/2011 22:23

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned hotel staff trained to spy on the sexual antics of single women and was asked to back it up. Forgot all about it until a few days ago, searched for the link, couldn't find the one I had in mind but found this and wondered what opinions , if any you had -

www.quayservices.co.uk/scottish.law.html

What happens if they Police are called to my door because of complaints?

Grampian Police are under duty to respond to any concerns regarding criminal activity from members of the public. If someone e.g. housekeeping/hotel staff, neighbours etc alert the Police to any activity that is deemed by them as suspicious e.g. different individuals coming to and from a flat, different women coming and going from a flat, noises that would indicate that the property was being used for sex etc, then the Police may visit the property.

This is because they are looking for any criminal activity related to prostitution and looking to ensure the safety of off-street sex workers.

Their main concerns include:

?Ensuring women?s safety
?Ensuring that there is no coercion/force i.e. human trafficking and making sure that the women present are working of their own free will
?Confirmation of identity i.e. women are who they say they are
?The prevention of bigger crimes - Grampian Police are of the opinion that this method of engaging with off-street sex workers may help to prevent larger scale crimes such as robberies and attacks on women by punters. It is hoped that by building a better rapport and trust with Grampian Police, women may feel more comfortable and able to inform Police about crimes committed against them, and ultimately feel more protected by Grampian Police.
?Grampian Police are keen to share information with off-street sex workers regarding dodgy punters and also wish to provide safety advice.
If the Police do come to your door, they will be looking to ascertain that you are working of your own free will and that you are working within the boundaries of the law. The main objective of the Police is to establish that women are working of their own free will and are not being commercially sexually exploited.

What normally happens next is that the Police will take your photograph ? they do this because if something happened to you then they would be able to identify you more quickly and would help inform their investigation. The photograph is only seen by a small team of Officers who are working within the sex industry department of Grampian Police.

The Police will also take your contact details and run them through the Police National Computer (PNC check), a computer database system that is used by law enforcement agencies across the UK. They are looking for any outstanding warrants or any previous criminal convictions that they should be aware of. This is no different to what happens with ?on-street? sex workers.

If you are with a punter when Grampian Police turn up, they also will take a photograph and personal details from the punter (if he/she is present at the time of the Police visit). The punter?s details are also run through the PNC. This is also for your safety, to ensure that the punter is not a dangerous criminal or is wanted by the Police.

As long as there is no evidence of criminal activity or brothel keeping, then the Police will take no action. After Grampian Police have visited and are satisfied that you are working independently, they will ask you to call or text them next time that you are working in Aberdeen. This is because: if a hotel or serviced flat, for example, do contact them again with the same issues such as men coming to and from the property, then they will be able to confirm that you are not doing anything illegal. Then it is up to the individual establishment to decide whether they wish to take any action, such as asking you to leave.

The decision to ask you to leave is made by the venue and not at the insistence of Grampian Police, unless they have had a specific complaint.

Grampian Police wish to establish a good rapport with women working in prostitution. They want to help prevent crimes happening against you e.g. punter robberies, brothel involvement etc. By communicating with the Police about when you are working in Aberdeen, they endeavour to be able to pass onto you any information that is relevant to your wellbeing, such as giving details of a dodgy punter for you to look out for. And vice versa.

OP posts:
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NotADudeExactly · 03/12/2011 19:57

Well, I obviously can't speak for the hospitality industry as a whole, but I have worked in guest relations/duty management for several London luxury hotels, so it's something I know a fair bit about.

I'm not entirely certain what you mean by "monitoring". If you are saying that hotel staff routinely check on sole travelling females and what they're up to, I can categorically say that I have never come across any such thing.

Prostitution is another matter. Many hotels tend to have a pretty complex relationship with it. On the one hand I think there definitely is a culture of male sole travellers - especially business travellers - using prostitutes while staying at hotels. I can't think of any hotel that doesn't simply accept this as a fact. Many places will have a formal policy against it but operate on the understanding that staff will constantly turn two blind eyes.

This generally tends to apply to prostitutes hired by individual guests (and, yes, a good concierge will generally be able to assist with the hiring). On the other hand, most places won't accept prostitutes soliciting business in their bars etc.; this absolutely will get you a discreet invitation to leave. I can imagine that misunderstandings may occasionally happen - to be fair, though, experienced hotel staff tend to be excellent at categorising guests.

Generally speaking, if it draws attention it will be considered a problem.

Crime is yet another topic. High end hotels have a definite tendency to handle things in-house. Having police on your premises is a definite business killer. i can see how certain incidents can be swept under the carpet because of this (such as a rape case involving a prostitute when I was a very young receptionist).

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BartletForAmerica · 07/12/2011 20:36

Hotel staff are NOT "trained to spy on the sexual antics of single women." Nor is there any "monitoring" in hotels.

I worked in a hotel used by businessmen as a student and we did see (in passing, we weren't spying/monitoring!) women coming and going whom we believed to be prostitutes. Perhaps something like this might have been helpful to those women then, although as NotaDude says management would NOT be keen to get police on the premises and would be very, very discreet.

I don't agree with the legalisation of prostitution, but it sounds like Grampian Police are trying to be proactive at improving relationships with these women for all the reasons they give.

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skrumle · 08/12/2011 12:50

i think the quote you've given suggests to me that the police are acting correctly - and i would imagine that very few women, even those who could be classed as promiscuous or participating in high-risk sexual activity, would be likely to be suspected of acting as a prostitute. doesn't read to me of "monitoring women" in general.

this though (from NADE): On the other hand, most places won't accept prostitutes soliciting business in their bars etc.; this absolutely will get you a discreet invitation to leave. I can imagine that misunderstandings may occasionally happen - to be fair, though, experienced hotel staff tend to be excellent at categorising guests made me laugh because a few years ago my mother's three sisters were staying in geneva at a very posh hotel and when two of them went down for dinner the first night they tried to get a table at the bar and every time they went to sit down a member of staff would come flying across and place a "reserved" sign on the table, they were tired and gave up and ordered room service instead.

when my other aunt was told this story the next morning she informed them that the staff obviously thought they were touting for business. when the youngest of my aunts (aged 56) asked at reception this was basically confirmed by a very embarassed receptionist who said that if they wanted a table for dinner that night to just ask at reception and it would be organised for them. the idea of my three Catholic, conservative, aged 56-68, primary-teacher aunts being thought of as prostitutes provided hours of hilarity at christmas that year but at the same time it is depressing that it is women who end up being treated badly...

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