Honolulu police: OK to outlaw sex with prostitutes

HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu police are telling a key Hawaii lawmaker that they're OK with making it expressly illegal for officers to have sex with prostitutes, as long as undercover officers can still say they'll have sex so they can make arrests.

Honolulu police spokeswoman Teresa Bell told The Associated Press on Tuesday that officers have never been allowed to have sex with prostitutes under departmental rules, so making it illegal won't change how officers operate.

Bell says officers who submitted written and oral testimony to a House committee earlier this legislative session met Tuesday with Sen. Clayton Hee, the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Hee's committee is considering a bill cracking down on prostitution. The bill passed the House without a clause that would have made sex with prostitutes illegal for officers.