The Home Office has announced a development in tackling the problem of prostitutes’ cards in public payphones.

An amendment to the Criminal Justice and Police Bill, currently going through the Lords, introduces a new criminal offence of placing prostitutes’ cards in phone boxes.

Oftel supports this development as it believes that any initiative on the part of the telecoms industry needs to be backed up by a criminal deterrent.

Oftel will continue to work with operators to discuss voluntary strategies that will complement the offence proposed in the Bill.

A possible response would be for the industry to amend its subscriber contracts in order to allow the barring of incoming calls to numbers which are advertising the services of prostitutes in phone boxes.

For further information please contact Nigel Humberston (tel: 020 7634 8824 / e-mail: nigel.humberston@oftel.gov.uk).