Hawaii Cops Give Up on Sex With Hookers, Settle for Handjobs and Blowjobs

Jacob Sullum
Reason
Mar. 27, 2014

Hawaii cops have reached an agreement with state legislators that will limit the exemption that allows them to have sex with prostitutes. Police originally insisted on an open-ended license to fornicate, but now they are willing to settle for petting, handjobs, blowjobs, and other activities that fall short of penetration.

Hawaii's current prostitution law includes a blanket exemption for law enforcement officers "acting in the course and scope of duties." That covers both agreeing to pay for sex and actually having sex. As you may recall, some members of the state House of Representatives, who apparently were surprised to discover this exemption existed, wanted to remove "sexual penetration or sadomasochistic abuse" from the list of things cops are allowed to do with prostitutes. Police objected, saying that change would put a damper on their work, and the bill that the House ultimately passed left the exemption alone. But news of the nixed amendment generated enough outrage that police are now willing to compromise.

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