TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Tag: Jim Buckmaster

  • The NY Times on craigslist crimes

    Law Enforcement Targets Prostitution on Craigslist:

    It’s nice to see the NY Times write a sizzling expose about craigslist prostitution. Never mind that I’ve been writing about it for the past year. However, this article does have some merit as it has some great quotes.

    First, let’s hear from craigslist president Jim Buckmaster…

    Law enforcement officials have accused Craigslist of enabling prostitution. But the company’s president, Jim Buckmaster, said its 24-member staff cannot patrol the multitude of constantly changing listings — some 20 million per month — and counts on viewers to flag objectionable ads, which are promptly removed.

    “We do not want illegal activity on the site,” he said. Asked whether the company supported the police’s placing decoy ads on Craigslist, Mr. Buckmaster said: “We don’t comment on the specifics” of law enforcement.

    Like I’ve said before the problem with users policing the ads are that people who use craigslist for normal items aren’t going to venture into the erotic services section and people using the erotic services section sure as hell aren’t going to flag the ads.

    Now let’s hear from a pro-prostitute advocate…

    Tracy Quan, a member of the advocacy group Prostitutes of New York and author of the autobiographical novel “Diary of a Married Call Girl” (Harper Perennial, 2006), acknowledged that “the Internet became a virtual street for people in the sex industry,” but said that “the police are as inventive and as wily as sex workers are.” She said that the stings amounted to entrapment of consenting adults, and that “it seems like an enormous waste of time resources by authoritarian busybodies.”

    Translation: I think I’m above the law so I’m going to complain about police doing their job.

    And again from Mr. Buckmaster…

    Law enforcement officials ask why Craigslist even includes Erotic Services among its 191 categories. Mr. Buckmaster, the company president, said the site created that category “at the request of our users” for legitimate massage, escorts and exotic dancers. In an e-mail interview, he said that the police had praised the company’s cooperation, though he did not give examples.

    Letting the inmates run the asylum is never a good idea.

    And for those of you who think that prostitution is no big deal, I leave you with this quote…

    The police say the focus on such misconduct is worthwhile because prostitution is often linked to other crimes involving drugs, weapons, physical abuse and exploitation of minors and immigrants.

    But I guess you’re ok with all of that.

  • Teen prostitutes uncovered in Chicago

    Teen prostitutes uncovered in Chicago

    Women charged with offering girls for sex:

    I’ll give you 3 guesses of which website they were advertising on. I’ll give you a hint. It rhymes with gregslist.

    Cook County Sheriffs in Illinois conducted a Craigslist prostitution sting which resulted in finding prostitutes ages 14, 15 and 16-years-old. Those charged in separate incidents were Tamara Cotton, 25, who was charged with keeping a place of prostitution and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and one count of pimping and child endangerment. Christina Holt, 19, who is charged with keeping a house of prostitution. Holt’s boyfriend, Montrell Knight, 34, who was storing guns and drugs for the Gangster Disciples, was charged with nine counts of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, armed violence, and three drug-related charges.

    The teen prostitutes themselves are not being treated as criminals, and Cook County is trying to get them help.

    So what does craigslist have to say about this?

    Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster wrote in an e-mail Thursday that illegal activity is prohibited on the site, and that the erotic services page is intended for use by “legal escort services and sensual massage providers.”

    “It was added at the request of our users, who wanted these ads separated from our general personals categories,” he wrote. “We appreciate and are fully cooperative with law enforcement efforts.”

    Legal escort services and sensual massage providers? Take it from someone who grew up in a town rife with prostitution, there is no such animal as “legal” escort services and sensual massage.

    Once again, craigslist is turning a blind eye to illegal activity on their site. They say that they’re fully cooperative with law enforcement, but it seems to me that it’s after the fact.

    Thanks to Tim for the link.

  • People in glass houses

    People in glass houses

    Craigslist exec strives to keep the Internet neutral:

    Jim Buckmaster is the CEO of craigslist. He’s concerned about Net Neutrality. Basically, proponents of Net Neutrality want the government to step in and prevent ISP’s from creating tiered levels of service, with the premium-priced tier providing faster service to highly trafficked websites. Personally, I’d prefer the government to stay out of the internet, but that’s neither here nor there.

    Mr. Buckmaster would like the government to get involved.

    I guess I would say I’m cautiously optimistic that lawmakers will do the right thing, although it seems in a lot of cases that these things get decided according to who puts forward the most lobbying and the most campaign contributions, he said. Since the phone companies have played this game for decades, they certainly have an advantage there.

    Mr. Buckmaster should be careful in invoking the name of our government and should be more concerned with cleaning up his own house. MySpace has already felt the wrath of state and federal governments due to the controversy that surrounds it. With craigslist’s reputation for drug dealing, prostitution, robberies, and assaults, it’s only a matter of time before someone in the government decides to regulate craigslist.