Summary
SB-1219 establishes the acts of loitering in a public place and impeding traffic with the intent to direct or solicit prostitution forms of disorderly conduct.
Background
Human trafficking is modern-day slavery. In 2020 alone, approximately 300,000 victims of human trafficking were identified in the U.S. Not to be confused with “smuggling”, the Department of Justice defines human trafficking as a crime that involves compelling or coercing a person to provide labor, services, or to engage in commercial sex acts; the coercion can be subtle, or overt, physical and even psychological. Women and girls are found to be particularly vulnerable; African American women are disproportionately at higher risk for human trafficking with many women reporting sexual abuse, beatings, food and sleep deprivation, and isolation from the outside world.
Not only has research from the U.S. State Department revealed that prostitution creates a safe haven for criminals, a large body of scientific research has also found a close connection between prostitution and human trafficking. More studies are finding that legalized prostitution does not lead to better safeguards but often worsens protections for victims and survivors. SB-357 (2020) decriminalized loitering with the intent to commit prostitution, and since then, communities have seen an explosion of prostitution, pimping, and pandering plainly on the streets. SB-357 has enhanced the marginalization of those at highest risk of human trafficking. The elimination of the legal authority of officers to investigate instances of sexual coercion and human trafficking has created liability, with threats of lawsuits for those who dare stop and investigate a potential crime or instance of abuse.
More than in any other profession, police officers are likely to encounter victims and traffickers in their everyday work. As a result, they are in a unique position to identify, intervene, and possibly separate victims from their abusers. The initial contact between officers and victims is crucial; not only does the encounter lead to the separation of victim from abuser, the human trafficking resources that victims can be offered sets the stage for victims to become survivors and helps influence whether traffickers are prosecuted and held accountable for their crime.
Proposal
SB-1219 will make the acts of impeding traffic and loitering in a public place with the intent to direct or solicit prostitution forms of disorderly conduct; offering a recently canceled tool to police officers that can separate victims from their abusers while connecting them to human trafficking resources.