ABSTRACT
The role of the police in the regulation and facilitation of sex work is increasingly highlighted and discussed in policy initiatives, media exposes and in the context of the front line work carried out by specialist services for sex workers. The ideological and theoretical foundations of this debate are discussed widely in the extant literature, and are often described as the 'sex wars'. Political debate, media coverage and on-the-ground practice interventions have been increasingly concerned with how the sex industry is policed and by whom. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores some developments – particularly in the UK – which are pushing the boundaries of traditional policing around sex work and moving practice forward. It provides one of the first published overviews in relation to the policing and practices of trans sex workers in the UK.
