Garda strategy focuses on men soliciting prostitutes

MORE than 60 men have been arrested and convicted for soliciting street prostitutes following a major undercover operation, the Irish Examiner can reveal.

It is the first large-scale crackdown on users of street prostitutes and marks a significant departure in Garda practice, which has traditionally focused on prostitutes.

As part of the Garda strategy, prostitutes arrested or dealt with during the operation are referred to support groups in a bid to get them out of the sex trade. The operation, code-named Kerb, has been running in the Dublin North Central Division since October.