The escort industry, white legal, is a target of permanent legal bullying. Charging money for your time is, again, legal. However, law enforcement personnel are more interested in what may or may not happen while you're on a date with a client.

Every year, a big sting is announced by the media in which several escorts and their director have been arrested on charges of prostitution. Unfortunately, people who can't tell the difference between legal and illegal have the power to make our lives miserable and gleefully abuse it, so the only practical defense we have is vigilance.

It's always wise to steer clear of a possible sting operation by your local vice squad. Here are some tips to avoid any altercations with the law:

• Look for surveillance. Any time that you are meeting a new client for the first time, it's wise to show up to the outcall early so you can assess the surroundings. Arrive approximately one-half hour early and look for an occupied vehicles parked in or around the parking lot for the outcall. The police often have an officer sit in a vehicle, watching for you. When you arrive, he contacts his partners inside to let them know you've arrived and are entering the building. If you observe any suspicious vehicles, leave immediately.
• Look for the aftermaths of an arrest. When you arrive early, and unexpected by Johnny Law, you may catch officers cleaning up from another arrest. An escort may be being lead to the squad car, officers may be standing around and all items from the arrest may not be removed, yet. Many police departments conduct a sting where several arrests are made in the same day, as quotas need to be filled. They often use the same location over and over. Be extra alert in the last decade of each month – again because of the quotas.
• Avoid dates in hotel rooms with adjoining rooms. That adjoining room door could spell disaster for you during a date. Just as things get good and juicy, your client's partners may burst through the door to arrest you. If you arrive at an outcall where the hotel room has an adjoining room, leave or ask the client to move to an alternate location.
• Observe the condition of the room. A room that is too neat and undisturbed could be a setup. If your client is supposedly staying in town for a business trip, but he has no luggage in the room, steer clear quickly. If there are no clothes in the closet or personal belongings strewn around the room or bathroom, leave before it's too late, especially if the client is staying overnight. Ask to use the bathroom. If all the soaps and towels are still intact and none of his toiletries are around on the counter, avoid any more time in the room. Some law enforcement authorities have figured out they must mess up the room a little for the setup to look believable. You can catch any mistakes they may have made by asking how long the client has been checked into his room. If the time spent in the room doesn't add up to how messy (or non-messy) the room is, get out of there fast!
• Avoid talking about sex until you're sure things are cool. If the conversation about sex seems unnatural or stilted, consider leaving or rescheduling for another day. Avoid continuing the conversation, indicate there has been a huge misunderstanding if that's all the client can discuss and leave.
• Listen to your client carefully. If he's speaking too loudly or succinctly to be natural, beware! He may be raising his voice so his wire or a bug in the room can pick up what he's saying.
• Refrain from booking dates with local clients with no references. If no other escort in the area will vouch for him, stay away from him. He is either a bad guy or law enforcement.

Update from a reader who used to run an escort agency:

When near the hotel, never do this in the hotel parking lot because there are police in the parking lot waiting for you, call the client and say "Hi, i haven't heard from my girlfriend and she said she was going to see you. Is she there yet?" if it is a sting, the cop will always say, "No, she already left" and hang up the phone.

The only time this doesn't work is if the police are after just you (or you are the first girl they called that night), which is never usually the case. Usually they are out for whoever they can round up.

As a client, remember to always be vague, never ask for a specific name because the police keeps a list of the girls they call… If the client asks for a name that is another big red flag… If he persists, just say, "I don't know what name she's using tonight".

This works 9 out of 10 times. Hope this helps to keep some of our readers out of jail.