Photo by Steve Fernie.

D.C. police said they have arrested 30 men in downtown prostitution stings over the past week.

On July 14, the first night of a prostitution enforcement operation in the 1000-1300 blocks of K Street Northwest, police arrested 10 men. Since then, they have arrested another 20 individuals in the downtown area, and the operations are slated to continue.

“The current enforcement efforts were focused on the ‘customers’ in reverse style operations,” MPD First District Commander Jeff Brown said on a police forum. “These arrests have made a noticeable difference to the community and the enforcement efforts will continue.”

Still, past reports have indicated that cracking down on prostitution in one area simply results in it shifting to another neighborhood.

Last week, D.C. Council member Jack Evans also proposed to again allow police to impound or boot cars used by johns. “We even had a catchy phrase,” Evans told the Washington City Paper about the tactic he introduced in 1992. “‘Honey, I lost the car.’”