I AGREE with Colette Douglas Home in her article on Edinburgh's licensed saunas ("Let us hope women do not pay the price of zero tolerance", The Herald, August 13).
As someone who belongs to Glasgow, but has worked and lived in the Edinburgh area for many years, I have long been impressed with the mature and pragmatic approach to saunas by Edinburgh City Council and the people of the capital.
Everyone knows and understands that these saunas are indeed brothels but there is an appreciation that for the health and safety of the women involved, they are far safer, more discreet and therefore, more acceptable than the Victorian attitudes shown over the years by my home city.
I cannot for the life of me understand why the newly-established Police Scotland has taken the actions that they have against these saunas and I am concerned that they appear to be motivated by a puritanical streak at the centre of the new force. I am also troubled that Police Scotland is imposing west of Scotland policing policies on the Edinburgh community, which neither needs nor wants such policies.
I know that MSP Margo Macdonald, who has long championed the welfare and well-being of prostitutes, has written to Police Scotland and Edinburgh City Council asking them to explain why these saunas have been targeted in this manner. The current explanations given by the police are simply not credible.
Let us hope that common sense prevails and that the women who had been working in the saunas have not been left to face the inherent danger of the streets of our capital city.
Norman Murray,
53 Clayknowes Drive, Musselburgh.
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