Can someone tell me the last time an incall was busted for anything other than suspected trafficking or offering underage girls? Is there anyone here old enough to remember?
There were a few cases, some making the news, some not. Neighbors complaints sometimes lead to the closing of incalls, often without arrests, sometimes with charges. The biggest case I remember was the Motel Hamel in Québec (around 2008), a huge agency with around 60 providers. No trafficking nor underage. It was made because of a canadian revenue agency complaint. The guy, called le "gros Dan" had some relations with the Hells, but the main reason was that he was getting too big and not paying his taxes.
unless, Coderre thinks that such a campaign would increase his popularity and the gentelman is starving for popularity.
He knows damn well it would not help his popularity. It would contribute to an image of intolerance. Montrealers are not prudish. Also, it's not clear he can order the SPVM to do whatever he likes. There is no issue however on the matter. Coderre will follow the SPVM intelligence, not the contrary. And within the SPVM, the plan is clear, as clear as it is in Vancouver and Victoria.
Black Swan phenomenon (term coined by Nassim Taleb): an event with a very low probability, but with drastic consequences.
But people go to incalls and parlors today. They are illegal and the consequence is a criminal record. The same very low probability exits. Most police officers are conscious of the consequences of such accusations and do not intervene in many cases precisely because of those consequences. No one says probability is zero. I don't buy the argument of quotas. They are for tickets that bring revenues for the cities, not criminal cases. These represent costs, not revenues.