Sacramento, California – California Attorney General Rob Bonta presented the results of a statewide enforcement campaign during Human Trafficking Awareness Month. The goal was to stop human trafficking and sexual exploitation by targeting individuals who create demand for these crimes.
There were more than 18 law enforcement agencies involved in the “Stand on Demand” operation, which took place from January 19 to January 24 and spanned several counties in California.
The California Department of Justice says that the effort, which lasted several days, led to the arrest of 120 people. Of the people that were arrested, 87 were for loitering, 25 were for solicitation, and 8 were for crimes linked to pimping and pandering.
The goal of the operation was to cut down on human trafficking by going after sex buyers, finding traffickers, and linking victims with services that may help them.
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State officials pointed out that the program was part of a larger regional plan that sees demand as a major cause of sex trafficking. Law enforcement employed both covert operations and surveillance at known crime scenes to find out about criminal activities, putting the needs of victims first.
The endeavor shows a rising trend toward enforcement measures that hold buyers and traffickers responsible instead of punishing the people who are being abused.
Attorney General Bonta called the operation a statewide stand against sex trafficking that strikes a balance between holding people accountable and helping survivors.
“This Human Trafficking Awareness month, the California Department of Justice spearheaded a statewide operation to protect the public and take a stand against the demand for sex trafficking — by holding perpetrators of human trafficking accountable and supporting survivors along the way,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta.
“It is vital that we carry out our goal in a manner that is trauma-informed and culturally competent. That’s why our task force members receive specialized training and experience to appropriately handle these cases with the sensitivity, compassion, and the care they deserve. I am thankful for these strong partnerships up and down the Golden State and look forward to all that we can accomplish when we work together.”
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said that the operation was helped by a new legislation that went into effect at the beginning of the year. The law made it a crime to loiter for the purpose of purchasing sex. Stephan stated that the law gave police more ways to enforce it and led to numerous of citations during the operation. This let authorities deal with demand more directly and safeguard victims, some of whom are minors.
The sheriff’s office and police department in San Diego said that the operation showed how working together may make the public safer and help victims get the resources they need. Federal partners, such as Homeland Security Investigations, also stressed that working together on a task force lets authorities get criminals off the streets while helping survivors.
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The release included information about the operations of the Department of Justice’s specialized human trafficking task forces in San Diego, Fresno, and Sacramento.
Those teams have made 983 arrests and assisted more than 1,000 victims get aid since 2021. State officials said again that they would keep working on these issues and urged anyone who is in danger or being exploited to get help immediately and use the options that are available.
Additional information and resources to support survivors of human trafficking is available here.