Community Collaboration at The
Buffalo John School
Jacquelyn Andula RN, BSN, and
Cecelia Kohlmeier, RN, MSN
The Erie County Health Department,
Preventive Health Services,
Buffalo, NY
Community Individuals Involved
The Erie County Health Department
 The Erie County District Attorney
 Project Reach
 Former Prostitute
 Drug and Sex Addictions Counselor

The Erie County Health
Department
Presents a health component at The
John School
 Leads a lecture and discussion on
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
 Stresses the unknown danger of
STD’s to sexual partners
 Presented by Jacquelyn Andula,RN,
Public Health Nurse and Educator

The Erie County District
Attorney’s Office
Arranges attendance at The John
School with the courts
 Informs Johns of their legal rights in
a class at the John School
 Offers most Johns an ACD after
attending the John School
 Presented by Michael Drmacich,
Assistant District Attorney

Project Reach
Provides a lecture and discussion
about HIV and AIDS
 Provided by a male NY State Certified
HIV counselor in a man to man
manner
 Provides education in a harm
reduction model
 Presented by William Smith

Former Prostitute
Provided by the same individual
every class. She is co-director of the
school
 Speaks about her experiences as a
prostitute
 Explains how she felt about the
Johns
 Explains that she has been HIV
infected for sixteen years

Drug & Sex Addictions
Counselor
Provides information on the cycle of
addiction
 Explores sex and drug addictions
 Explains the connection between sexual
abuse as a child and addictive
behaviors later in life
 Presented by Eli Pollinger, MSW and
co-director of the John School

Two Major Components
Operation Johnny
and
The John School
Operation Johnny
History: In 1996 at the request of the
Prostitution Task Force the Buffalo
Police Narcotics and Vice Unit
began a sting to combat street
prostitution.
Operation Johnny (con’t)
Male and female undercover
detectives were assigned to arrest
both prostitutes and their male
counterparts known as “Johns.”
This was to be a long term
commitment not just a quick fix.
The John School
Johns attend at request of the court
 Their fee of $100 covers all of the
schools expenses. They may be
allowed to pay less by a judge
 After completing the eight hour class
they are normally granted an ACD--the
charges are dismissed if they commit no
crime for six months.
 The school costs approximately $1200
a month to run

Why We Are Different
The John School has a non- threatening
manner
 The attendees are treated as students
and encouraged to get as much out of
the day as possible
 Strong focus on health and effect on
neighborhoods
 Refreshments are served
 Students are not belittled

Results of Operation Johnny
Arrests increased six-fold
 Calls to 911 were reduced by nearly
50%
 The District Attorney and the courts
established alternative sentencing
 Only available to first time offenders

Affects of Operation Johnny and
the John School

Recidivism Rates decreased

Those arrested for solicitation had a
recidivism rate of 8%

Those allowed to attend the John
school had a recidivism rate of
0.0068%
Difficulties Encountered
Having all city court judges agree with
the sentencing program
 Contract dispute between the Buffalo
Police Union and the Department led to
The New York State Police providing
the decoy
 Low school attendance can cause a
financial shortfall
