Euclid-St. Paul residents say discarded condoms are signs of prostitution

ST. PETERSBURG — The usual signs of crime in Euclid-St. Paul involve an empty spot in the back yard where the bicycle was stolen or wood splinters on the porch after a home burglary.

But lately, something more disturbing has been showing up on the neighborhood's shady streets: discarded condoms.

It has only happened a few times in the last few weeks, but it has been enough to cause alarm.

"Folks aren't happy about it," said Raoul Simon, president of the Euclid-St. Paul Neighborhood Association. "They're concerned and a little disgusted."

Simon believes contraceptives on the streets and lawns are evidence of prostitution. That type of crime has not been typical for the neighborhood, which more often sees home break ins, car thefts and other property-related crimes, Simon said.

William Proffitt, a police spokesman, said the department has not received complaints about prostitution there. Police have not noticed a problem with prostitution along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street between Ninth and 22nd avenues N, which border the neighborhood.

Typically, street prostitutes work main drags such as U.S. 19 and Fourth Street, police say. In those areas, it is not uncommon for sex workers to spill into residential areas after picking up johns.

At Gladden Park, one of the city's largest parks, surrounded by homes several blocks away from U.S. 19, residents have found discarded condoms hanging from bushes, said Carole Griffiths, the crime watch coordinator for Disston Heights.

"I am very upset with this situation. This is a children's park where they have day care," Griffifths said.

Jeff Frank, public safety chair of the Council of Neighborhood Associations, said it is not uncommon for sex workers to move around the city as they are rousted by authorities.

"Sometimes, when residents complain and police step up enforcement, they tend to move to another area," Frank said. "It's always shocking and upsetting for residents to find out that something like that is going on in front of their house."

Frank said he disagreed with the notion that prostitution is a "victimless crime," since it can attract other criminal elements, such as drug use.

In Euclid-St. Paul, residents are being encouraged to participate in a nighttime bike ride, add lighting outside their homes and call the police nonemergency number to report problems.

Luis Perez can be reached at lperez@sptimes.com or (727) 892-2271.