Richmond, California's 23rd Street and Ohio Avenue are both reportedly hotbeds of prostitution, and the local police department's so frustrated that they're going to do the same thing many of us do when we're mad about something: tweet about it.

According to KTVU, Richmond PD plans to "publicly shame" alleged customers of sex workers by posting photos of men arrested in prostitution stings to Facebook and Twitter.

"We all know when something is put on social media, it spreads like wildfire," Richmond PD Sgt. Nicole Abetkov told KTVU.

"Social media is the new wave of the future of police departments all over. And sometimes, that can get the word out a lot quicker," she said.

Abetkov points out to KTVU that once someone is arrested, their booking photo becomes public record, so "we don't see ourselves holding back" from sharing those photos on social media, even though these men might not ever be convicted of any crime.

Richmond's police chief, Chris Magnus, is already pretty active on Twitter, frequently with waggish remarks like "loose pants expose crack" (regarding the drugs allegedly found on an arrestee) and the below take on the arrest of a 61-year-old sex worker:

Fans of RPD's Facebook page appear to applaud the john-shaming plan, with one respondent hoping that the police department will take their social media photosharing even further.

"Why not do this with ALL criminals, and with ALL crimes? Maybe if the general public knew who the criminals were they could be better prepared," says one of RPD's followers.

"If 'shaming' Johns and Jills causes less of them, then maybe shaming burglars and thieves would work as well."

If you're interested in seeing how this plan plays out, you can keep an eye on Richmond PD's Facebook page here, and follow Chief Magnus on Twitter here.


[KTVU]