Prostitutes From 18 to 54 Caught in One-Day Dragnet, Says Tempe PD; Felony Warrants Served, Too
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| Tempe Police |
| Patricia Scala |
Tempe police teamed up with the U.S. Marshal's Office for a one-day dragnet for prostitutes and fugitives yesterday, aided by information from north Tempe neighbors.
The results:
Nine people were arrested on a total of 17 warrants for kidnapping, child abuse, armed robbery and probation violations. Authorities also arrested 10 suspected call girls -- though girls, in this case, some were not. Accused prostitute Patricia Scala, 54, is pictured here. Another woman was 41, says Sergeant Steve Carbajal, Tempe police spokesman.
Carbajal tells New Times that, in this economic climate, police want to maximize their resources to provide the biggest impact for the community. His news release, (reprinted below), also credits neighbors of the area north of the Salt River who have a "longstanding history" of working with police to uproot criminals.
Scroll down for the text of the release:
Tempe Police Crime Suppression Effort Nets 19 Arrests
On Tuesday March 24, 2009, the Tempe Police Department working in partnership with the US Marshal's Office conducted a crime suppression effort in the Beat 11 area of the City of Tempe.
The Beat 11 area of the City of Tempe is the portion of the city geographically located north of the Rio Salado. The crime suppression effort was designed to attack the issues of outstanding arrest warrants and internet advertised in call and out call services used for the purpose of prostitution.
This crime suppression effort was designed to attack these issues with pinpoint accuracy and have a positive effect on our community. Those involved in this effort were members of the Tempe Police Department's patrol division, special investigations division, communication division, detention staff and members of the US Marshal's office.
Information received from the citizens of north Tempe was also crucial to the success of this effort. These residents have a long standing history of taking a proactive approach to the issues in their neighborhoods and working in cooperation with the Tempe Police Department to have a positive impact on those issues.
During this effort nine individuals were arrested for outstanding warrants and a total of 17 warrants were cleared. The charges on the warrants cleared included armed robbery, kidnapping, probation violations, and child abuse.
Ten arrests were made for prostitution. One female arrested was in possession of dangerous drugs and another female was in possession of marijuana. Over $1,000 was seized as evidence. The suspects arrested for prostitution ranged from 18 to 55 years of age.
This is excellent work by those involved in the investigation. The Tempe Police Department is committed to working cooperatively with our community in a proactive manner to identify and reduce crime in our neighborhoods. We will continue to develop and execute proactive crime suppression efforts of this nature as we continue to work towards our number one goal of fighting crime.
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