伦敦市政府电话扫黄 奥运前打击色情业
Mobile phone networks have been asked to cut off pimps and prostitutes ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
City Hall chiefs have called on top phone companies to help crack down on prostitution and trafficking in the lead up to the sporting event.
They want help targeting numbers advertised on thousands of sex calling cards that litter phone boxes throughout the capital.
Kit Malthouse, deputy mayor for policing, said the mobile phone numbers are a valuable resource for those behind the sex industry.
He said an agreement must be reached between mobile phone networks and police that sees them taken out of use as soon as they are identified.
Mr Malthouse said: "If you are an American tourist and if you walk into a telephone box you would think it was a sex shop.
"We want a streamlined, agreed process for barring these numbers because they become very valuable for a number of reasons.
"Firstly, they become a source of repeat business. Plus the numbers operate as a kind of switchboard, there will be several poor girls operating behind the number.
"Hopefully it will become dangerous to advertise your number in these boxes because you may loose your business.
"If you are a trafficker or pimp all you are interested in is money, you are certainly not interested in the welfare of the women or young girls."
Chief executives of all the major mobile operators have been invited to a meeting at City Hall in October.
City Hall named Vodafone, Orange, Virgin and T-Mobile as the main companies in their sights.
Police have already warned that the Olympics may fuel an unprecedented boom in London's sex industry.
Sex workers from across the world are expected to attempt to cash in on thousands of site workers, spectators and athletes.
Mr Malthouse has campaigned to ban sex service calling cards since 2000 when he worked as a councillor in Westminster.
At one point campaigners stood in Oxford Street handing out calling cards printed with details of mobile phone company bosses.
Placing prostitute calling cards in phone boxes is a criminal offence but those leaving cards have to be caught in the act, making it difficult for police to arrest them.
日前，伦敦市政府要求手机运营商在2012年伦敦奥运会举办之前停止为色情工作者提供通讯服务。
市政厅官员呼吁国内几大手机运营商在奥运会筹备期间帮助打击卖淫和性掮客。
市政府要求运营商帮助锁定性服务名片上所广告的电话号码，这些名片遍布伦敦各个电话亭。
主管警务的副市长基特•马尔萨乌斯称，这些手机号码对于性工作者来说都是很有价值的生意来源。
他表示，手机运营商应和警方达成一致，号码一旦被锁定，就应立即停用。
马尔萨乌斯说：“如果你是一名美国游客，当你走进伦敦的电话亭时，你会觉得那是个性商店。”
“我们想采用一种高效协同的方式来禁用这些号码，由于多种原因，这些号码变得十分有价值。”
“首先，这些号码可以招揽回头客，再加上这些号码类似于总机，所以电话号码的背后往往是好几个可怜的女孩。”
“希望这能让他们意识到今后在电话亭贴性服务电话会很危险，因为你可能会丢掉饭碗。”
“如果你是个掮客或者皮条客，你在乎的只是钱，你当然不会关心那些女性或年轻女孩的幸福。”
英国国内所有大型手机运营商的总裁受邀于十月参加在伦敦市政厅召开的一次会议。
伦敦市政厅已将沃达丰集团、Orange电信公司、维珍通信公司和T-Mobile通信公司列为其主要合作公司。
警方提醒称，奥运会将给伦敦的性产业带来空前的繁荣。
据称，来自世界各地的性工作者将从成千上万名建筑工人、观众和运动员那里招揽生意。
从2000年开始，马尔萨乌斯就开展了取缔性服务名片的运动，当时他还是威斯敏斯特市的一名议员。
当时，活动倡议者站在牛津街街头，向民众分发印有手机公司老板详细信息的名片。
在电话亭里张贴性服务名片是一种犯罪行为，但必须要抓到现行才可定罪，这使得警方很难逮捕他们。
Vocabulary:
trafficking：trade in some specific commodity or service, often of an illegal nature（非法买卖，贩卖）
repeat business：回头客
cash in on：to take advantage of or capitalize on（靠……赚钱，乘机利用）
be caught in the act: 当场被捕
