Seeking the services of a prostitute is increasingly a losing proposition in Dallas.

Since January, arrests in sting operations featuring female officers posing as prostitutes are up 300 percent citywide. In the first nine months of 2005, there were about 141 arrests from sting operations; in the same period this year, there were 565.

The numbers are even more striking in northwestern Dallas, where decoy arrests are up more than 1,300 percent, from 11 arrests through mid-September 2005 to 160 this year. That area includes Harry Hines Boulevard, which has long been a favorite hangout for prostitutes. But police say street prostitution is a problem in several neighborhoods throughout Dallas.

"We're doing weekly stings in every division of the city," said Deputy Chief Julian Bernal, who is in charge of the vice unit. "There are other consequences to prostitution. You have drugs involved, robberies, other kinds of petty crimes. You have the customers that take home diseases to their significant other. It's a far-reaching issue."

Since January, more than half of the 123 complaints that the vice unit has received from the public have involved street prostitution, said Lt. Christina Smith.

"The vast majority of the complaints are coming in from neighbors who see prostitution in their area," Lt. Smith said. "Occasionally, we get a complaint from a relative of someone. They want our assistance with getting them out of the business."

On Friday, a cadre of undercover female officers donning exposed bra straps and short shorts fanned out around Eighth Street and R.L. Thornton Freeway in Oak Cliff for a midday decoy operation. But at noon?

"We've gotten men before work, at lunch, dinner," Chief Bernal said. In all, nine men were arrested.

To prepare for their roles, some of the decoys tried to simulate bruises by rubbing their legs on the tires of the police command RV. The most experienced of the bunch, "Eliza," a 30-year-old vice officer in a denim miniskirt and a revealing T-shirt for her undercover assignment, had real bruises from a recent mountain biking expedition.

She said the job is nerve-racking for the uninitiated. "You're out there without a gun or radio," she said. Backup is never far away, however.

"I've only had a couple of times when I got messed with," she said. "Mostly pimps." One, she recalled, tried to attack her, "and then there were four detectives running across the road to pounce on him."

She said she makes cases on about 350 men a year. Her most productive shift was last month on Harry Hines Boulevard – eight arrests in two hours. The johns, she said, include dump truck drivers, code enforcement officers, water department employees – as well as doctors, lawyers and judges.

Customers and prostitutes both can be charged with prostitution, a Class B misdemeanor. Starting last year, in lieu of jail, customers of prostitutes could take an all-day class that details the risk of disease and other social ills of paying for sex with strangers. Dallas police also post photos of customers and others charged with indecency on the Internet as a deterrent.

After four convictions, defendants can be tried on a felony charge and spend up to two years in a state jail. Last year, the misdemeanor division of the Dallas County district attorney's office reported that 549 prostitution cases were enhanced to felonies. So far this year, 322 felony prostitution cases have been filed.

"Filings have been going up," said Kim Judin, head of the misdemeanor division, adding that the enhanced cases consist almost exclusively of prostitutes. "I doubt there are many customers picking up enough cases to get state jail felonies."

Chief Bernal said the police work on Harry Hines is an example of his strategy for battling street prostitution. First, tough enforcement drives prostitutes off the sidewalk and out of sight – for a time. Prostitutes then cruise in vehicles, popping on the interior light and making deals with potential customers at red lights.

Traffic stops come next, which drive the hookers further underground. They operate from brothels thinly masquerading as modeling studios and spas, as well as some topless clubs. Some women then work out of apartments and houses, and on the Internet. Eventually, the word gets out that Dallas is a tough place to do business.

Dave Scott, who lives in northwest Dallas, says he can see the results of all the police stings.

His neighborhood, near the intersection of Royal Lane and Webb Chapel Road, is a frequent "service station" for hookers and their clientele. When they're working, he said, "they're in cars parked on the side of the road" and leave the debris of their trade – used condoms – on the street.

"I haven't seen any in several months, or the evidence," he said.

E-mail jtrahan@dallasnews.com