LEAD: FREEPORT officials say that prostitution in some sections of the village is becoming ''more visible and blatant,'' and so to discourage customers and to penalize the streetwalkers with less loss of police time, the village will enact its own prostitution law.
FREEPORT officials say that prostitution in some sections of the village is becoming ''more visible and blatant,'' and so to discourage customers and to penalize the streetwalkers with less loss of police time, the village will enact its own prostitution law.
Under the present system, prostitutes are arraigned in Nassau County Court in Mineola, a procedure that the Freeport Police Department says takes officers off the street for too long. Under the proposed law, which was requested by the department, prostitutes and their customers will be arrested and charged with a violation, rather than a misdemeanor, and taken to Village Court, where they will be issued a summons to return.
Chronic violators could still be charged under the county's law, a misdemeanor that could result in a day jail term. Last year, Freeport police officers made arrests for prostitution, while Nassau County Police made arrests, according to Edward Grilli, a spokesman for the county District Attorney's office.
In the past, said Lieut. Arthur Burdette, commanding officer of Freeport's Anti-Crime Unit, village police have not generally arrested customers of prostitutes. However, there have been 35 arrests so far this year, and it is expected that more will be made under the village's proposal. In , county police made 45 arrests of prostitutes' clients.
