Although prostitution is not on the forefront of crimes in Albany County, it may still be prevalent within the community.
There have been six reported cases of prostitution since 2003, with two this year, according to the Laramie Police Department. The cases this year occurred on 19th and Grand Avenue on June 27 and were classified as “Sex Offense-Solicitation.”
“We attempt to identify areas prone to prostitution,” David O’Malley, Albany County sheriff, said. “We have not investigated many active cases. We could just be naïve or we just might not hear about them.”
Transient areas – like truck stops – are typical areas for soliciting sex and past cases have centered on these types of locations, O’Malley said.
In 2013, Wyoming became the last state to provide criminal penalties against human trafficking, which can lead to prostitution, Brianna Wells, UW International Justice Mission Chapter (IJM) president, said. The IJM helped write the bill and lobby for the issue, she said.
The bill provides the legalities to prosecute perpetrators, and it also protects the victim involved in sex trafficking, Wells said.
Negative connotations can sometimes be associated with selling sex, Becca Fischer, SAFE Project executive director, said.
“I certainly think that there is a stigma against participating in sex work,” she said. “I think it’s complicated for people in it and for people who are viewing it from the outside. There could be a lot more going on there than you believe.”
Soliciting sex is not always revered as a negative activity though, Fischer said, adding that this can constitute to a complicated issue.
“I think there are arguments to be made about sex work as something that some women find empowering and feel like is their choice,” she said.
The other side of the issue is individuals can be exploited through trafficking or some form of prostitution business, where the situation can spiral out of control and the victims lose power of their situation, Fischer said.
There have only been a handful of individuals who have self-identified to SAFE as soliciting sex, Fischer said. This, however, does not mean prostitution is not prevalent in the community, she said.
“I would imagine it is happening on some level. It would be a bit naïve to assume there’s no one living in Albany County exchanging money for sex,” she said.
Because Laramie is a college town, Wells said this may constitute to a higher prevalence of prostitution.
“There are a bunch of different kids from different backgrounds and you never know what kind of effect that will have on our community,” she said. “People want what they want, and maybe they don’t know that it is sex trafficking.”
