The Sex Police

The team run by a Dutch police inspector named John combats human trafficking and the exploitation of prostitutes in The Hague. The camera follows the team on their nightly visits to the red light district, on brothel inspections and while processing potential victims of human trafficking at the police station. Matter-of-factly, but not without emotion, the detectives talk with a unique candidness about the world of prostitution and the inner workings of human trafficking. Frequently, the men find themselves taking on the role of social workers rather than upholders of justice, and we see how they joke with prostitutes and pimps to put them at ease. They have to remain constantly alert to the possibility of false accusations, and they have their work cut out for them when they must distill reality from the often complex statements made by victims from every corner of the world. Then there are the regulations, procedures and political plans that make it difficult to get human traffickers behind bars. Director Roy Dames has made dozens of films about the fringes of society, and he knows how to gain the trust of the investigation team. Partly through informal chats with the police officers about their work and their own perspectives, Dames creates a disarming portrait of this committed "commercial vice" squad, otherwise known as "the sex police."