News of the weird: Suburban cops go all the way to stop prostitution

The prize for the day's oddest story has to go to The Washington Post's Tom Jackman, who writes on the efforts of Spotsylvania, Virginia cops to ferret out prostitutes.

Their job apparently falls into the category of: It's a, err, hard job, but somebody's got to do it (emphasis on do it).

And the article reads like something straight out of The Onion.

From the Post:

They enter the massage parlors as undercover detectives. They leave as satisfied customers.

In Spotsylvania County, as part of a campaign by the sheriff's office to root out prostitution in the massage parlor business, detectives have been receiving sexual services from "masseuses." During several visits to Moon Spa on Plank Road last month, detectives allowed women to perform sexual acts on them on four occasions and once left a $350 tip, according to court papers.

Talk about putting your tax dollars to work.

Spotsylvania Sheriff Howard D. Smith said that the practice is not new and that only unmarried detectives are assigned to such cases. Most prostitutes are careful not to say anything incriminating, so sexual contact is necessary, he said.

Only unmarried cops, well that makes it OK then. But here's the, err, money quote:

"If I thought we could get the conviction without that, we wouldn't allow it," Smith said. "If you want to make them, this has to be done." (itals added)

The Post then goes on to note that "numerous police and legal experts" thought the practice is a bit, uhh, dodgy.

"It's insane," said Charles J. Key Sr., a retired Baltimore police lieutenant who trains police officers and federal agents across the country. "If you allow officers to go through with the act, they've violated the law. You don't get an exception for participating in a violation of law."

The intrepid Sheriff Smith was undaunted however.

Smith said most "professionals" know better than to name an explicit act and a price. And with the Asian-run parlors that have periodically sprung up in Spotsylvania, he said, "they don't speak much English. There's not a lot of conversation." Smith and Spotsylvania Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Thomas Shaia likened the situation to investigators buying drugs from a drug dealer -- a necessary violation to prove a larger crime..

Right. Because you often get: Hey, we bought all these drugs. We had better try them out just to make sure they're real.