With little public attention, New York City has reversed how it polices prostitution, going from 20,000 annual arrests in 1985 to barely more than 100 this year.
The plunge in arrests, gradual over the last decade, accelerated last year with decisions by borough district attorneys to stop prosecuting sex workers and dismiss thousands of open cases against those charged with selling sex.
Those policy decisions coincided with the implementation of two state laws that altered how law enforcement approaches sex work: One ended the ability of police officers to arrest people suspected of loitering for the purpose of prostitution, and another permitted the erasure of old prostitution-related convictions. Supporters of those changes argued enforcement of prostitution laws had long disproportionately affected transgender people and people of color.
