SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — Sex workers in San Francisco can now carry condoms without worrying it would become evidence against them if they get arrested. The practice among law enforcement agencies has been permanently banned because of concerns it was creating a public health hazard.

Using condoms as evidence has been a courtroom tool utilized by prosecutors in many large cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and New York.

But according to San Francisco Human Rights Commission Director Theresa Sparks, the use of that evidence resulted in prostitutes stopping from carrying them in order to protect themselves from the law, rather than sexually transmitted diseases.