A Different `Dear John' Letter

BREMERTON - Owners of cars from which people are seen picking up prostitutes are being sent warning letters, part of a campaign to rid the town of hookers, police say.

Crime prevention officer Kent Boekweg proposed and drafted the letter, which has been reviewed and approved by City Attorney Ian Sievers.

"In the one letter we did send, it was received by a female head of the household," Boekweg said. "She was extremely upset."

The letter includes the date and time of the sighting and does not accuse the vehicle owner of any improprieties, saying the picking up of a prostitute could be "a random act of kindness."

Boekweg said reports of hookers getting into cars will be taken from patrol officers and citizens who are block-watch captains and know local prostitutes. Each report will be reviewed to make sure it is legitimate, he added.

Also in the works is a proposed ordinance to bar convicted prostitutes and their customers from loitering in areas where prostitution is known to occur. Everett and other jurisdictions have similar bans.