A former Vancouver police detective who kissed a teenage girl and a young woman who were both vulnerable witnesses in sexual trafficking cases should only have to spend his weekends in jail, defence lawyers argued Monday.

James Fisher pleaded guilty in March to sexual exploitation and breach of trust charges stemming from incidents that occurred while he was a member of the Vancouver Police Department's Counter Exploitation Unit.

The sexual exploitation charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 90 days in jail. Defence lawyers argued Monday the veteran detective should serve that time intermittently on weekends, citing the increased difficulty faced by police officers in jail.

The rest of his sentence—the length of which has yet to be decided—should be while out in the community and under court-imposed conditions that would allow Fisher to remain with his family, his lawyer, William Smart, argued.

Smart said that would allow the disgraced officer to work on his relationship with his wife and be there for his family, including his 25-year-old daughter, who also spoke in court.

"I'm scared of losing my dad as he's the most important person in my life," she said. Several other members of Fisher's family were also there on Monday.

Prosecutors, on the other hand, proposed a very different scenario.

"The Crown's position is that 18 to 20 months in jail is appropriate for all three counts," Crown lawyer Gordon Comer told reporters Monday. "Crown is urging the court to emphasize deterrence. It sets a precedent."

Since sentencing hearings began late last month, the court has heard that Fisher kissed one of the victims on three occasions, starting when she was 17.

One of incidents took place in a VPD office after Fisher had taken the victim to see a psychiatrist.

In a pre-recorded victim impact statement played for the court in late June, the woman said that all her life she had learned her value was to be a sex object, "so when Jim Fisher started to make sexual advances, I thought that is the price I have to pay for him helping me."

During proceedings, the defence also attacked the credibility of the second victim, urging the judge to use caution when considering her victim impact statements because of her history within the court system.

Advocates say the practice is a barrier to bringing men in positions of authority to justice in cases when a sex crime has been committed.

"It was disappointing to see the defence try to discredit one of the victims," said Sophia Hladik of Vancouver Rape Relief. "Overall, the minimizing of the behaviour is problematic by the defence."

With files from CTV Vancouver's Sheila Scott