PHOENIX – Police and prosecutors in Arizona’s capital city are engaging in what one church-state watchdog calls “an especially serious [constitutional] violation” by giving prostitutes and their clients a choice between church and up to six months in jail.

According to Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Phoenix’s Project ROSE — a tax-funded partnership between police, Catholic Charities and a local Christian church — clearly violates the First Amendment by compelling individuals suspected of prostitution-related offenses to participate in a program administered by a sectarian religious group.

Twice a year, Phoenix police undertake a city-wide sex-work sting. Those arrested are taken in handcuffs to Bethany Bible Church, where they are given the option to avoid criminal prosecution by participating in the church’s Prostitution Diversion Program. The conversation takes place in a section of the church marked by a sign with a Latin cross, the Project ROSE logo and the words “Prosecutor’s Office.”

Suspects who accept the de facto plea deal — which takes place before charges are filed — do so with prosecutors’ official assurance that successful completion of the program will keep their arrest off the books, much as driver safety courses can expunge a traffic ticket.

If the suspects decline the deal, a police report is submitted to the prosecutor’s office and the suspects are charged with prostitution. A conviction carries a mandatory sentence of 15 days to six months imprisonment, in addition to a fine.

“Phoenix is essentially telling criminal suspects that they can go to church or go to jail,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “The government has absolutely no right to force anyone into a position like that. These suspects shouldn’t be coerced into participating in a program that might not reflect their own beliefs.”

On Friday, the organization delivered a letter to city officials, demanding Project ROSE be shuttered.

“The city is coercing individuals to participate in religious activities and programs, under pain of criminal prosecution,” reads AU’s letter. “The city is conveying its endorsement of religion generally and Christianity in particular. And the city is using taxpayer money and law-enforcement resources to aid religious institutions. Please immediately end these violations by suspending Project ROSE.”

The letter also implies that if the city does not discontinue the program within 30 days, AU will take the matter to court. Over the 67 years of its existence, the Washington, DC-based religious-liberty watchdog has fought and won hundreds of similar battles nationwide.

“This is an especially serious violation of religious freedom,” AU Senior Litigation Counsel Gregory M. Lipper said. “The City of Phoenix is rounding up suspects for the purpose of sending them to a religious program, and then threatening to prosecute them if they decline to participate. The government may never force its citizens to choose between religion and prison.”

Americans United is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation. The organization is led by a board of trustees that includes religious leaders from multiple faiths, attorneys, physicians, university professors and corporate executives.