Prostitution is illegal in 49 of the 50 states in the U.S. When law enforcement officials find individuals selling sex, they often see that as the primary crime, arrest those people, and carry on. However, not every situation is as it seems. Women in prostitution are not all willing participants - some may be victims of human trafficking, working at the orders of pimps and unscrupulous criminals. Due in part to increased awareness of human trafficking and the roles of pimps in commercial sex, police officers are now focusing on those who aid and abet the crime of prostitution.
The Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force in California was featured in a recent CNN article for changing their focus when targeting crimes of this nature. According to Seargent Craig Friesen, head of the Anaheim Vice unit, the old procedures involved arresting the girls and johns to the outcome of minimal charges and quick release. But this did not get to the root of the problem. The team determined that by focusing on arresting and eventually jailing the pimps, victims would have a better chance of escaping and seeking help. In California, pimping carries a mandatory 3-year sentence, which would keep these individuals off the streets for extended periods of time, widening the window of opportunity for survivors to seek help.
Pimps prey on vulnerable young women, promising a better life and love and affection. Through coercion, deception, force, and abusive treatment, pimps are able to gain control of their victims and eventually enslave them, selling their bodies for sex and drugs. With these kinds of people off the streets, more women will be safe from this manipulation.
To target pimps, the OCHTT has been going undercover, finding suspects by answering online adult services ads to catch pimps. While the original goal was to make one pimping arrest in the first year, thirteen have been made in the last nine months.
Read the CNN article here. Become aware, take action.
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