Sex Sells in Soho

A senior police officer claims that there are more fake prostitutes and drug dealers than real ones on the streets of Soho in London's West End. Soho was once known as a notorious area for its sex shops, but now while there are still some prostitutes who work inside some premises, the ones on the streets are almost all fake operators.

Det Chief Supt Andy Rowell says that the area has been cleaned-up by the police, but now the danger comes from con artists targeting gullible foreign tourists and out-of-town visitors.

The fake drug dealers pass off boot polish or liquorice as cannabis, and wax wrapped in foil as crack cocaine and aspirin pills, with the markings rubbed off on the side of a matchbox, as tablets.

Where the fake prostitutes are concerned, around 15 of them work together by taking a deposit for a room then disappearing, or luring a punter into an alleyway where a male accomplice will relieve them of their cash.

Rowell said: Soho is now a safe place to come and enjoy yourself - but please don't come looking for drugs and prostitutes. You will almost certainly get something you didn't expect.

A drive to clean up Soho and to diminish its red-light image has been unveiled by Westminster City Council.

Council leader Colin Barrow has pledged to shut down the last remaining unlicensed sex premises following the recent closure of 51 sex shops and the complete eradication of clip joints.

Councillor Barrow said: The idea that the seedy side of Soho is a magnet for tourists and creative trade is a flawed one. It may well be a curiosity, but there is no compelling economic argument for this.

This is not about sanitising the area...BUT...simply making it fit for a modern capital city where people are more aware than ever of the true costs of prostitution and drugs to society.

Soho is losing its unique atmosphere because of crackdowns on vice and an influx of chain restaurants, according to historians.

BBC presenter Dan Cruickshank is leading calls for Westminster council and police to stop trying to sanitise the district.

The council has announced a drive against drug dealers, street prostitutes and unlicensed sex shops, as well as drunken and anti-social behaviour, in an attempt to 'clean up' the area before the expected influx of visitors for the 2012 Olympics.

A police operation this month led to 50 arrests. More than 60 pedicabs have been seized and some £500,000 of illegal pornography destroyed following 22 raids on unlicensed sex shops.

But historians and residents say late-night revelry and all that goes with it are part the area's character. Cruickshank, who presented Around the World in 80 Treasures on BBC2, said: Soho is almost beyond recovery and I find it rather heartbreaking. Now it attracts chain shops, chain bars and chain restaurants and is no longer unconventional or curious. If the drunk and disorderly are people who come from outside as somewhere to hang out it's not on. But equally, a sense of wildness and inventive roughness creates some artistic individuals who do some interesting things.

Soho is still home to celebrated bars, clubs and restaurants, and is the hub of London's gay scene. Cruickshank said sex shops had long been part of the local scene.