Condoms are now ‘instruments of crime’, according to the Allegheny County, PA police, which has been using them to charge sex workers with first-degree misdemeanours apparently toward the broader goal of cracking down on human trafficking. A Tribune-Review analysis shows police charged people with both prostitution and possessing an instrument of crime in 100 cases last year in Allegheny County. In 15 of the cases, condoms were an alleged instrument of crime and in 14 others, police seized condoms as evidence. But is it worth jeopardising the health and safety of sex workers?

As the Tribune-Review reports, criminalising condoms allows police to generate records and keep track of suspects. In Pennsylvania, prostitution is a third-degree misdemeanour, meaning that suspects are typically released and sent to court summons later. But possessing an instrument of crime with intent to employ it criminally is a first-degree misdemeanour, which means that the suspect is taken into custody, photographed and fingerprinted. Instead of an arrest for which workers would receive a summons, the PIC charge would create ‘leverage’ for police, forcing those charged into a full booking and jail custody, which would pressure them to plead guilty. According to the chief of the Allegheny County Police Department, this helps police catch human traffickers.

When asked to comment on the criminalisation of condoms, a representative from the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office told Jezebel.com that the ‘premise that condoms have been criminalised is not an accurate statement. He clarified that the county is not criminalising condoms across the board, but only classifying them as ‘instruments of crime’ while there is a ‘nexus between condoms, phones, computers, etc., and the investigation of either trafficking or promotion of prostitution’.

But cracking down on sex work and ending human trafficking isn’t necessarily a casual relationship, according to Jessie and PJ Sage of Sex Workers’ Outreach Project (SWOP). Together with several organisations, the SWOP had called on the DA to put an end to the practice and has held anonymous meetings for sex workers and allies to voice concern. Both Jessie and PJ say they would like to work with the DA’s office toward common goals of ending trafficking and preventing an HIV outbreak. “Sex workers are on the front lines and could really help to identify cases of abuse or trafficking, but these policies cause distrust,” says PJ.

Several cities and states have taken steps to block authorities from filing condom-related charges or using condoms as evidence against prostitutes. Advocates argue that the practice discourages sex workers from using condoms and endangers communities by making it more likely that sexually transmitted diseases will spread.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 18, 2018 04:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).