Irvine City Council spotlights human trafficking
In an effort to raise public awareness of human trafficking and the fight against the problem in Orange County, the Irvine City Council received a comprehensive report detailing prevention and law enforcement measures related to the crime.
“I know that human trafficking is not an easy or comfortable issue to discuss,” Councilwoman Christina Shea prefaced in her introduction of the agenda item, “however it is incumbent upon all of us to support measures to prevent this crime that is responsible for destroying so many lives.”
The presentation delivered at the regular council meeting on Tuesday was made by Director of Public Safety Dave Maggard with Lt. Michael Kent of the Irvine Police Investigative Unit. It outlined the concerted effort of several law enforcement and service agencies to identify, prevent, and prosecute the crimes categorized as sex trafficking and labor trafficking.
Kent noted statistics showing human trafficking is a $32 billion business worldwide, the second largest grossing criminal enterprise behind illicit drugs.
Since the passing of the Federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000, state and local law enforcement agencies have been developing methods to better coordinate their efforts.
The Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force was established in 2004, bringing together officials from law enforcement and victim services agencies. Voters passed the 2012 Californians Against Sexual Exploitation Act, also known as Proposition 35, attaching more severe penalties for people convicted of human trafficking.
The increased focus has resulted in more concentrated efforts to “continue training our officers to better recognize and respond to human trafficking cases,” Kent said. “This is an important issue, so you can count on us to bring those responsible for enslaving innocence to justice.”
Beginning in 2013, all sworn Irvine police officers and detectives have been subject to training courses designed to identify evidence of human trafficking crimes and the proper handling of victims. The county task force includes representatives from nonprofit victim services groups and faith-based organizations as well as police officials and prosecutors.
Earlier this year, members of the Irvine Special Investigation unit conducted a countywide training seminar attended by 100 representatives from organizations that include the Salvation Army, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.
In his presentation, Kent outlined examples of how better coordination helped to crack two recent cases in Irvine. By developing a network of apartment complex managers, police were alerted to a prostitution ring in 2013 that enticed young Asian women to Southern California with the promise of retail jobs.
Investigators uncovered several locations in Irvine where the prostitution ring was operating. The result, Kent said, is that several victims were rescued and three suspects are being prosecuted, facing from 12 to 40 years in prison.
In a 2014 case, an Irvine officer noticed a young girl walking through an Irvine business park looking disheveled. After initially refusing to cooperate, the 17-year old girl opened up to the officer and revealed she had been lured from Sacramento and forced into prostitution.
The investigation quickly resulted in the arrests of suspects in both Orange County and Sacramento. The charges carry a penalty of 25 years in prison.
To underscore the effort in preventing and prosecuting human trafficking crimes, Shea offered a motion that Irvine recognize April as Victim’s Rights Month, with an addendum to the motion by Councilwoman Lynn Schott to include recognition as Child Abuse Prevention Month.
The motion passed with a unanimous 5-0 vote.