Berkley, Calif., is a progressive city. But Mayor Tom Bates worries that a proposed city… Berkley, Calif., is a progressive city. But Mayor Tom Bates worries that a proposed city ordinance to decriminalize prostitution will send the message that Berkley is “wide open.”

The campaign to decriminalize prostitution is the brainchild of former prostitute Robyn Few, 45. She was arrested in June 2002 by an F.B.I. SWAT team in a sweeping crackdown on sex workers and medical marijuana growers. She received six months’ house arrest and three years’ probation. She says she quit the business in 1999 and was scapegoated.

Few’s efforts have prompted anger and opposition. Residents along San Pablo Avenue in Berkley believe pimps and prostitutes will take over the neighborhood. A potential increase in crime and a decrease in quality of life are the major concerns. But supporters of the measure insist that prostitution is a societal mainstay — a commodity always in demand. It should be treated like any other job with unions, government workplace protections, fair wages, insurance and legal recourse for workers who face abuse or civil rights violations. These supporters also oppose the legalization of prostitution — as seen in Nevada and across the ocean in Amsterdam.

Yes, prostitution is a business — an illegal one, but a business all the same. Often linked to drug abuse and child exploitation, it is also considered to be a bad business. Regardless of the stigma placed on prostitutes by police and the public, these people should not be afraid to go to the police when threatened simply because of their profession. Even if they are viewed as immoral or thought to have implicitly chosen the dangers they face at work, it is not the government’s job to regulate morality. They are supposed to keep people safe

Prostitutes are people, and to be paid for having sex should not warrant criminal treatment. More than anything, they are people who need help. If a prostitute is assaulted and does not feel safe calling the police, then the assaults will keep happening. The prostitutes won’t be any safer. And the streets won’t be any safer either.