Akerb crawler (orcurb crawler) is a person who drives around areas known forstreet prostitution,solicitingprostitutes forsexual activity. The act is known as kerb crawling because the person will typically drive very slowly along thekerbside.
Where prostitution is illegal, kerb crawlers are widely regarded as apublic nuisance; they help to keep street prostitutes in business inred-light districts and oftensolicitpedestrians who are not prostitutes for sex. As a result, kerb crawling is illegal in manyjurisdictions.
Sting operations in whichundercover police wait for kerb crawlers to proposition them are a common method for tackling kerb crawling.[1] Kerb crawling is illegal inCanada,[2] theUnited Kingdom,[3] theUnited States,[4]South Korea[5] andIndia.[6] Police may also collectlicence-plate numbers of vehicles that appear to be kerb crawling and may contact theirregistered owners. Kerb crawling and soliciting in a public place are legal in New Zealand.[7]
Although prostitution is legal in the United Kingdom, soliciting in a public place is not. Following the recommendations of the 1984Criminal Law Revision Committee reportProstitution on the Street, the United Kingdom'sSexual Offences Act 1985 introduced an offence of kerb crawling to persistently solicit women for the purposes of prostitution.[8][9] ThePolicing and Crime Act 2009[10] modified theSexual Offences Act 2003[11] to redefine the offence and remove the requirement of "persistence".
Soliciting in the UK is a summary-only offence limited to a fine, although in some circumstances, offenders can be disqualified from driving and have their cars impounded.[3] Police in England have the discretion to charge, issue an out-of-court disposal (caution), or even take no further action against offenders, and this depends on local practice.[12] Alternative strategies such as Kerb Crawler Rehabilitation Programmes (KCRP) have been introduced in some areas, such asLeeds, but these programmes are criticised by some.[13]
The British Crown Prosecution Service and National Policing Guidelines do not encourage enforcement against prostitutes or customers but rather against those who exploit prostitutes for financial gain (e.g., "pimps").[12]
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