Indeed, it is very important to remember that there is always a human cost of making things illegal, and that the harm of the enforcement needs to be weighed against the harm of the problem you are trying to solve.
There's been a larger push for evidence-based medicine over the past decade or two. I'd love it if our criminal justice system was more evidence-based and focused solely on reducing crime/suffering/injustice and better rehabilitation. Many police departments fall into the trap of using number of arrests as their KPI, because that's easier to measure than outcomes.
Serial season 3 has had good discussion on minimum sentencing and judges who sentence based on whims, not on what's effective.
Not to mention the slight problem with entrapment (not the legal definition, but the human definition) and the heavy handed approach, this all besides the issues with making prostitution illegal.
Serial season 3 has had good discussion on minimum sentencing and judges who sentence based on whims, not on what's effective.