Two high-profile incidents in the city have incensed the debate over prostitution and highlighted the fact that it’s legal in Rhode Island if performed indoors.

At a press conference involving reporters from several regional networks, Warwick Police Chief Stephen McCartney said that the police department was working in conjunction with the Boston Police Department in an attempt to decipher whether or not a report of an attempted armed robbery was related to the recent murder of a prostitute in Boston.

The police responded to a report of an “attempted robbery in progress” on Thursday evening at approximately 11:15 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express on Jefferson Boulevard. McCartney said the assailant reportedly bound the victim with a plastic cord and demanded money but ran off after her husband entered the room. The assailant then reportedly aimed a gun at the husband.

McCartney said the situation had “strong similarities” to the recent incident in Boston, which ended in the murder of a prostitute. He said he couldn’t identify the woman or her husband but said she was employed at the Cadillac Lounge in Providence as a dancer, who was “dedicated to these side services.”

As of the Beacon’s deadline, the assailant had still not been caught, and the police department hadn’t issued any new public information regarding the case.

McCartney, the President of the Rhode Island Police Chief’s Association, made it clear that he’s no fan of the state’s so-called “loophole” that allows prostitution. Rhode Island has nothing on the books that outlaws prostitution as long as it’s preformed indoors. The state does have laws against “loitering for indecent purposes” – or street walking. Only Rhode Island and Nevada have legalized prostitution, something McCartney called “a frustrating problem.”

“This is an anomaly specific to Rhode Island,” said McCartney during last Thursday’s press conference. “Make no mistake about it, women who partake in (prostitution) are putting themselves at risk.”

The victim reportedly placed an advertisement to sell sex for money on the popular classified Web site Craigslist. McCartney said some prostitutes go as far as to have their advertisements legally screened in order to insure they meet legal muster in the state. As of last Thursday, the police were unable to locate the Internet ad.

The state also has laws prohibiting pandering (acting as a pimp), harboring prostitutes, and maintaining and supporting prostitution. About one-week prior, the Warwick Police Department raided a “massage parlor” at 1550 Post Road on those grounds.

Warwick Police Major Joseph Tavares said that the department was able to obtain a search warrant based on evidence that pandering was taking place at the massage parlor.

Tavares said that the police department raided the establishment, but made no arrests. The police seized items such as records and took photographs. The police are scrutinizing the evidence to see if it merits any criminal charges.

Like McCartney, Tavares made it resoundingly clear that he thinks the state should outlaw prostitution, calling it a “violent and dangerous profession.”

Tavares said he’s aware of the arguments in favor of prostitution, such as those that say it’s a victimless crime and the world’s oldest profession, but said those arguments are deeply ideological and usually made by people outside of law enforcement who haven’t seen it’s dark side.

“Those arguments may sound good but in reality it’s a dangerous profession. Nobody would want to see their wife or daughter doing that,” said Tavares.

But Steven Brown, the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said that police departments should concentrate on arresting those who enslave women into prostitution and leave the women who chose the profession out of their own free will alone.

“We believe that the police should be going after the people who are profiting from prostitution and human trafficking in this state and not the women that are participating in it themselves,” said Brown.

Brown also suggested that prostitution is a victimless crime.

“To the extent that the activity is consensual, we don’t see any reason why either of the two participants should be charged with a crime,” said Brown.

According to a report from the Department of Corrections from last year, the most common offense for the female awaiting trial was for “loitering for indecent purposes.” That means 25 percent of all women awaiting trial for a misdemeanor offense were charged with streetwalking.

Prostitution was the most common misdemeanor offense that led to a woman being incarcerated, with 25.3 percent of all female inmates sentenced for a misdemeanor were convicted of or pled guilty to streetwalking.

State Representative Al Gemma (D-Dist. 20, Warwick), said that he is deeply concerned about the issue of prostitution and human trafficking. He worries about whether the some of the females being arrested for prostitution are victims as opposed to perpetrators of crimes.

“You don’t want the people who are being victimized to be the one’s you’re arresting. It’s hard to separate the sheep from the wolves,” said Gemma.

Gemma said he wonders whether it would be more logical to simply make prostitution legal in certain zones. That way, he said, the practice would be well regulated in order to protect those involved. Gemma said he understands that many people find it deeply immoral, but like gambling, could be far less harmful when run by the state.

Gemma said the whole situation saddens him. Close to all of the people who partake in prostitution, he said, do it because they need to, not want to.

“People who do this are doing it to put food on the table. It’s like Les Miserables…people do what they’ve got to do to put food on the table,” he said. “This is not a glamorous thing that we see in some movies or television shows. This is sad.”