ABSTRACT
The interpretation and enforcement of the complex legislation governing sex work in Britain is inconsistent and varies from one area to the next. With 43 police forces in England and Wales, each with a Chief Constable and an elected Police and Crime Commissioner or Mayor, and a single autonomous police force in Scotland, governed by the Scottish Parliament, approaches to policing sex work range from ideological in some areas to purely reactive in others and are influenced by a range of local and national factors. National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) Guidelines on Sex Work, launched in 2016, attempted to shift the focus away from enforcement and towards protecting sex workers from offenders, a move which was described by the media as tacit support for a move towards decriminalisation. Drawing on data from National Ugly Mugs, this chapter will outline the impact of different policing approaches on sex workers and will argue that with complex legislation and guidelines that are often ignored, police forces take on the role of de-facto legislators by introducing models of quasi-legalisation or prohibitionism.
