Police netted 11 johns in a clampdown on Kelowna's sex trade.
Earlier this month, undercover officers focussed on street-level prostitutes and their customers downtown. They arrested men ranging in age from their early 30s to mid-70s.
The goal is to reduce crime in the city, said RCMP. Police have long associated the street-level sex trade with drug abuse and assaults.
The men were arrested for communicating to obtain sex from a prostitute. Police released them all to appear in court or to get counselling through the Prostitution Offenders Program.
Police launched a three-day campaign targetting the sex trade in 2004. Female undercover officers posed as prostitutes to attract johns while male officers stood nearby in case the encounters got violent. Twelve men, most from Kelowna, were charged.
In most cases, a john stopped his vehicle and negotiated with a woman he perceived to be a sex-trade worker.
"Her job is to gain evidence - 'I want this act for this money and I want it now,'" said RCMP Const. David Blake, who headed the Kelowna RCMP's vice unit at the time.
"It's dangerous. You're dealing with the unknown. He might be cracked out. He might be carrying a knife, a needle or pepper spray."
Kelowna's red-light district is roughly bordered by Bertram Street, Leon Avenue, Ellis Street and Lawrence Avenue.