Is Prostitution Legal? Bill Drafted To Ban Michigan Police From Having Sex With Hookers

A bill could be drafted to ban Michigan police from having sex with prostitutes during undercover assignments. The state is said to reportedly have a law on the books that grants police immunity in the event they have sex with prostitutes on the job, The Independent reported Thursday.

The bill is being drafted by professor and director of the Human Trafficking Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School, Bridgette Carr. Carr is said to be working with Rep. Gary Glenn to abolish the exemption. She told Michigan Radio that she did not believe the rule was created for mal-intent or abuse, however.

“The reason the law is structured the way it is is because of the way the prostitution laws are written,” she told the radio station. “So for law enforcement to have any power to investigate with immunity, they get all the power. And no one thought to go back and carve out a prohibition against sexual intercourse.”

Prostitution in the state of Michigan -- which is classified as “engaging in sexual activity for money or payment” -- is a misdemeanor crime, punishable with an up to 93-day jail sentence with a fine, probation and community service, among other penalties.

Carr first became aware of the rule when she found that the state of Hawaii was in the process of “phasing out” its own exemption, according to Michigan Radio. According to Carr, some officers were aware of the exemption while others were not. None of the prosecutors or police staff she had spoken to said they had used the rule.

One major risk that the rule proved to have, according to Carr, were people claiming to be officers in order to use the rule.

“What I do know from my own clients is that people who either say they are cops, who are cops or who are impersonating cops, know about this exemption and threaten my clients with it sometimes,” she said.