Two new bills seek to help California law enforcement fight growing sex trafficking

An FBI agent arrests a sex trafficking suspect Image from FBI video For years California s state legislature has wrestled with creating new laws to protect casualties of the sex business while supporting law enforcement s efforts to crack down on human trafficking Two new bills have now arrived with that goal They are working their way through the legislative hearing process They carry with them the challenge of correcting previous legislative miscues Critics from both sides of the issue say those earlier bills were flawed Assembly Bills and both have a common target a previous bill signed into law in by Gov Gavin Newsom which eliminated loitering laws used by law enforcement to question anyone involved in suspicious street activity Both proposals which are working their way toward Society Safety Committee hearings are sponsored by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria But only one has the full backing of San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan who co-sponsored AB She mentioned this bill strengthens the tools for law enforcement to go after the predators and humanely expands vital shelter and advocacy services for survivors trying to rebuild their lives But as for the other bill We are watching AB as it moves through the process but have not taken a position on it at this time Gloria commented he believes both new bills are common-sense measures to restore law enforcement s ability to stop illegal activity while also helping casualties escape exploitation San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl supports the effort saying We commend Mayor Gloria for supporting the proposed ordinance One difference between the two bills is that the District Attorney s office advocates for the survivors model in anti-trafficking efforts which takes the position that any laws or policies involving the trafficking of casualties should consider the casualties experiences and welfare AB was introduced by Assemblymember Maggie Krell a Democrat from Sacramento who worked in the U S Attorney s Office at one time Her bill would address what its supporters believe is a grievous mistake a bill passed last year which set the age for a minor for trafficking at years old and younger The original intention was to include youth under But that element got knocked out in committee last year so this year s law will again introduce the -and-under provision The new bill would also punish buyers purchasing commercial sex making it a misdemeanor with a fine That money would be given to community-based organizations to provide direct services and outreach to sex trafficking casualties The bill is set for a hearing before the Assembly Population Safety Committee at a m on Tuesday The second bill AB was introduced by Assemblymember Michelle Rodriguez a Democrat from Ontario It focuses on punishing the pimps and prostitutes involved in trafficking I am committed to ensuring California s law enforcement agencies have the necessary tools to protect and serve all Californians explained Rodriguez This bill has widespread law enforcement sponsorship because it would reinstate loitering laws But in a nod to the transgender area the new bill would prohibit the police from making an arrest solely based on the individual s gender identity or sexual orientation Marjorie Saylor director of human trafficking services in the District Attorney s office explained AB goes after the prostituted individual The attitude behind the bill sees the prostituted individuals as the trouble Just prostitutes on the street that need to be removed from the area California Police Chiefs Association President Jason Salazar who supports the bill disagrees Law enforcement has no desire to criminalize sufferers he stated but there are major challenges in intervening to stop these open-air prostitution markets Next stop for the bill is the Population Safety Committee although a hearing hasn t been scheduled yet Both bills seek to fix Senate Bill which was authored by Sen Scott Weiner a Democrat from San Francisco At the time of passage Weiner announced it would prevent the police from harassing and discriminating against anyone loitering The law effectively described street cops they need to back off questioning anyone loitering unless they had proof of a crime What happened say law enforcement agencies across California including the San Diego Police Department is that Weiner s decree emboldened pimps and prostitutes Gloria noted that before S B police might see four to eight individuals engaged in prostitution daily Now that daily count is between and he stated Activists who monitor sex bargain on the streets in several cities also saw an increase in the sex exchange like Helen Taylor with Exodus Cry a nonprofit advocacy group opposing the trafficking of humans across the globe I saw an uptick of girls and pimps on the street she commented Taylor monitors trafficking along Figueroa Street a major thoroughfare in Los Angeles She speaks from experience saying she has endured the crime first hand as a survivor of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation And now she is an advocate for the casualties Saylor declared she believes in the survivors model in dealing with the sex exchange and declared AB will help end demand and fix the victim If you only address the pimps and the casualties and don t address the buyers trafficking is only going to increase Both women believe there is an undercurrent of money and partisan politics intertwined in numerous efforts to curb modern day slavery Sex trafficking is the second largest grossing crime in California according to various sources And Taylor mentioned that sex buyers fuel the industry Saylor agreed adding that industry is deceptive They re saying that they are sex workers when they re veritably not she announced They re managers they re pimps they re brothel keepers they re the ones that are benefiting off of the backs of their peers As an example they refer to what happened last year when another effort was introduced to replace Weiner s measure We are coming up against voices of pimps and perpetrators that take precedence over our voices she stated adding that the ACLU and their sex worker activists came really hard against that They needed to keep SB as it was hands off for buyers pimps and the prostituted individual After the hearings Taylor spoke individually with one man who testified as a sex worker supporting Weiner s bill When the transgender man learned Taylor did outreach on Figueroa Street in Los Angeles he mentioned I m down on Fig Figueroa All the girls know me I manage the girls I provide the prevention When she questioned if any of the sex workers didn t want to be there he responded Oh no they all want to be there His testimony helped and the Weiner bill stayed on the books which is one reason the two new bills have been introduced