Police in Dundee have been patrolling streets known for prostitution in a bid to tackle the issue.
Street prostitution is still a problem in Scotland’s major cities, leaving desperate women vulnerable to violence, for as little as £10.
Since the start of 2025, nine men have been charged with soliciting in Dundee.
It’s part of a nationwide approach to tackling prostitution, and getting women the help they need, to build a better life.
STV NewsOn Tuesday evening, STV News joined officers who were patrolling on foot while others circled the area in unmarked cars, looking for kerb crawlers.
Police officers Elise and Kirsten have got to know many of the women well, who are vulnerable and desperate.
Their priority is to make sure the women have the support they need.
STV NewsSergeant Kirsten Kiddie told STV News: “Tonight we’ve been out and about in plain clothes, some vehicles out and some in marked police vehicles.
“We’re just looking for patterns of vehicles travelling in the area that are potentially involved in soliciting females involved in on-street sex work.
“So what we’d be doing is looking at vehicles that are circling the area, maybe stop and engage with any known females.
“We’re in a known area that would be known to us as a police service as where people work in terms of picking up what we would commonly refer to as kerb-crawlers.
“Tonight we’ve seen a few vehicles that have been within the area. They’ve not quite reached the threshold for where wed be looking to take action against them yet but we’re monitoring them and monitoring them in he area.
STV News
“We’ve obviously seen a couple of females however there’s a wee bit of level activity in terms of numbers within the street tonight. One of them has made off before we could engage with them and we’ve got another unit there trying to deal with a female and offer them some kind of support services and check their welfare.”
Operation Begonia began in Aberdeen and is now in action in Dundee and Glasgow and will be rolled out across the country.
It aims to challenge the demand for prostitution and ultimately help steer women away from selling sex on the streets.
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