The sergeant of SPD's Vice/High-Risk Victims Recovery Unit just went to DC to talk about SPD's practices/policies for dealing with juvenile prostitutes:

PI.com:

Arriving in Washington, D.C., Seattle Detective Sgt. Ryan Long didn't know what kind of reception to expect.

The department's point man on combating child prostitution, Long went to the capitol last week to speak in support of legislation that could aid him in that effort.

On the table are a pair of proposals that would see communities around the country receive $2.5 million grants to improve law enforcement practices with regard to child prostitution and provide resources for children sold by pimps. The initiative has drawn bi-partisan support in both houses of Congress -- Washington Democrat Sen. Maria Cantwell has signed on to co-sponsor a bill introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. -- though its future is less than assured.

Long was in D.C., he said, to share the experiences he and his squad have had in and around Seattle.

Part of that has been positive; they've made complex cases that helped raise the issue's profile, and they've quietly pulled about 39 children off Seattle-area streets since Jan. 1.

At the same time, despite a fledgling effort just beginning in Seattle, police are still at a loss when it comes to moving child prostitutes -- youths Long described as victims, not criminals -- out of the life without booking them into juvenile detention.