‘Managed’ red light district scheme under review following murder of sex worker

By The Press Association4th July 2016News EnglandNews England, Prostitution, Yorkshire

The managed red light area where sex worker Daria Pionko was murdered is under review, a community safety partnership spokesman has said.

The area in Holbeck, Leeds, was designated a “managed area” in October 2014, when a 12-month pilot scheme was launched to focus on issues created by the presence of sex workers.

The project hit the headlines the following year when it was made permanent.

Lewis Pierre, 24, was found guilty at Leeds Crown Court of the murder and robbery of 21-year-old Polish national Ms Pionko (pictured) in the managed area in December 2014.

Following the verdict, a Safer Leeds spokesman said: “A further public consultation is currently being undertaken with local residents, businesses and stakeholders as part of a review regarding the managed approach.

“This will inform a report with recommendations regarding the managed approach, which will be brought to a meeting of the Safer Leeds Executive later this summer.”

The area, of light industrial premises, offices, a couple of large shops and car showrooms, had been identified by council workers and police as having significant issues related to outdoor sex workers.

The scheme, set up by the Leeds Strategic Prostitution Working Group, meant offences such as loitering, soliciting or kerb crawling would not be enforced.

The safety of sex workers and community harmony were also driving principles behind the project.

A report by the University of Leeds in September 2015 found that, since the start of the pilot scheme, relationships between sex workers and the police had improved, there was an increase in sex workers reporting crimes and there had been a number of arrests and prosecutions of people who had committed serious offences against sex workers.

But it also made a number of recommendations and reported that “future improvements should focus on the safety of sex workers”.

A Leeds City Council meeting in October 2015 reported that the creation of a police sex worker liaison officer post had helped encourage sex workers to report offences and had resulted in Leeds’ first conviction for the rape of a sex worker.

A further meeting, after Ms Pionko’s death, revealed that an action plan had been drawn up to act on recommendations given in reports.