It might come as a surprise to some people to learn that until now Bradford has not had a specialist police team dedicated to tackling prostitution.

This is a city in which prostitution has had a high profile for many years. It was pushed into the national spotlight by the television series Band of Gold, and again when residents in Manningham formed vigilante groups to rid the area of its reputation.

Only last week the focus was again on prostitution following the murder of 19-year-old Rebecca Hall, whose body was found in an alley off Thornton Road - the new red-light area following the success of the Manningham campaign.

This is a long-standing problem, presenting a danger to young girls who risk being drawn into this way of life. It is also a growing nuisance to the legitimate businesses operating in the area, which have to put up with prostitutes, pimps and kerb-crawlers hanging around the streets at all hours.

So it is encouraging that, in response to complaints from some of these businesses, the police have set up a new city-centre vice squad which will spearhead a clamp-down on prostitution in Bradford. It is right to concentrate on the kerb crawlers. If demand is reduced, then surely a drop in the number of prostitutes must follow.

However, it is also good that the police are to work with various agencies and organisations to try to help the prostitutes break the "cycle of abuse" that keeps them working on the streets. That will help to prevent the problem merely being moved on to somewhere else.