THE issue of prostitution and kerb-crawling on the streets of Glasgow has fallen dramatically in the space of just one year.

The number of people caught kerb-crawling has halved over a period of 12 months.

Police reported just 14 cases of people cruising for prostitutes in the city’s traditional red light areas in 2017 - down from 38 in 2016.

An even bigger drop has been recorded in the number of people being picked up for offences relating to prostitution.

Back in 2016, a total of 96 offences related to prostitution were recorded by officers but in 2017, the figure decreased by 87 per cent, to 12.

This figure included prostitutes found breaking the law outdoors and in flats or brothels - indoors with more than one sex worker.

The number of brothels uncovered and people found to be engaging in immoral trafficking has also been reduced.

In the Greater Glasgow area, three instances of brothel keeping were detected in 2016 - a figure that was reduced to only one within a year.

Kerb-crawling is heavily focused in just two Glasgow wards and a few police beats.

More than half of the those offences relating to prostitution were contained within the Anderston, City and Yorkhill area, while the rest were in the Calton.

Areas near Glasgow Green have traditionally been pick-up points for prostitutes.

The only instance of brothel keeping was uncovered in the Springburn/ Robroyston area.

Teams from Police Scotland have been working alongside Community Safety Glasgow and third sector organisations to target the issue.

Their approach is based on the understanding that women are exploited in prostitution through a lack of choice of alternatives and offer support to all women involved.

A spokesman for Police Scotland, said: “Police Scotland is committed to keeping people safe and protecting the most vulnerable in our communities.

“Our multi-agency approach ensures officers work with a wide-range of partners, including the NHS and local authorities, to improve the safety and well-being of individuals exploited for the purpose of prostitution by pro-actively engaging with them and signposting to appropriate available support services.”

“We will continue to vigorously target those, often associated with organised crime, who coerce, abuse, exploit and control people for their own selfish purposes.”

Community Safety Glasgow believes the rise in smartphones has made prostitution less visible on the streets.

A spokesman added: “Our Routes Out of Prostitution team is working every day to support women involved in prostitution.

“Routes Out provides practical and emotional support to all women involved in prostitution, regardless of whether they want to exit prostitution or not.

“We offer women a range of advice on issues such as homelessness, health and benefits, safety advice and harm reduction and also support if they wish to exit prostitution.

“Prostitution has changed since the advent of mobile phones and the internet with street prostitution becoming less visible in general terms.

“However, street prostitution still exists and we respond to the needs of those involved and also to the places where it takes place.

“Street prostitution is a dynamic and constantly shifting situation and that will be reflected in the figures presented here.

“But we are very clear that prostitution is form of violence against women that is driven by the demand for paid for sex.

“We do everything we can to challenge that demand as part of the support we offer to vulnerable women.”