AnonymousSource: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
The Santa Barbara County Human Trafficking Task Force recently participated in the 7th Annual “Operation Reclaim and Rebuild” along with over 90 agencies statewide. The operation focuses on rescuing victims of human trafficking, identifying and arresting their traffickers, disrupting the demand for vulnerable victims, and connecting victims of human trafficking with victim resources.
The Santa Barbara County Human Trafficking Task Force is comprised of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, Santa Barbara Police Department, Santa Maria Police Department, Lompoc Police Department, and the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office. These local agencies came together as part of the statewide operation that coincides with January’s National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. The Santa Barbara County sting operations took place from January 26-28, 2020, and resulted in the arrest of 12 sex buyers and 1 human trafficker. Five potential victims of human trafficking were identified and connected with local resources by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office, Victim-Witness Program.
Yesterday, the Los Angeles Police Department hosted a press conference where the statewide totals for “Operation Reclaim Rebuild” were announced. This years’ statewide coordinate effort resulted in the rescue of 87 juvenile and adult victims, and the arrest of over 518 individuals for crimes associated with human trafficking.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Human Trafficking division was established in 2016 through a grant from the United States Department of Justice. The grant was renewed in 2020 with $1.2 million in funding for three years.
If you suspect someone is a victim of human trafficking, please call the Sheriff’s Office Anonymous Tip line at (805)681-4171 or provide an anonymous tip online on our website.
Ahh, here we go again with the pats on the back for arresting Johns and not *actual* human traffickers…
This is just absurd. “Sex buyers” are hardly ever “traffickers.” How about they “rescue” all the sex sellers and have them help them track down those who are trafficking. Lonely old dudes who are paying for consensual sex are NOT the problem! It’s like busting cancer patients for weed and proclaiming a victory in the war on drugs.
Meanwhile, human traffickers are bringing human slaves and under-the-table workers by the thousands illegally on our Southern border and no one CARES… In fact, this administration condones it.
Mostly agree but the problem is when the person is trafficked it is no longer consensual. Similar to how the war on drugs went, attacking/jailing the users didn’t solve the problem. Now marijuana is legal and tightly controlled, and while there is still illicit marijuana activity, it and the associated bad actors have been significantly reduced. It might be time to legalize the oldest profession, bringing it out of the shadows, where the truly horrible aspects proliferate, to an open and safe environment for both the workers and Johns. Compare the sketchiness involved with getting a dime bag in the 90’s, across it’s illicit supply chain, to todays legal cannabis industry.
John busts are pretty much the same as jaywalker stings.
VOICE – Unless the John has any reason to believe it’s not consensual, they shouldn’t be charged with trafficking even if the sex seller was a victim of trafficking. That’s why it’s so unfair to bust the lonely Johns. These guys (and gals) presume that they are entering into an arrangement for consensual sex for money. Busting them won’t do anything, unless they know about the background of the person they’ve engaged with and can help with the investigation. Busting guys for paying for sex is even more useless than busting kids with joints. There’s only one thing more hardwired into the human brain than “feeling good” and that’s sex. The war on trafficking will never be won by arresting and shaming lonely men/women paying for what they assume to be consensual sex.
This will be hard for some, but what they need to do is detain/rescue the sex sellers themselves and provide some incentive for their cooperation in the investigation. Only those involved with that end of the transaction would have any value in busting the traffickers. Most Johns know nothing other than they’re lonely and have some spare cash to spend.
Human trafficking is on an entirely different and horrendous level than the drug trade. There is an near limitless supply of vulnerable girls throughout the world, and just and as much scum willing to take advantage of them. Chasing down the trafficker’s is like cutting of a head of the Hydra, two more will grow back, just like the war on drugs. Legalizing and regulating reduces the demand for the illicit services where the trafficking thrives.
Legalizing prostitution would definitely reduce trafficking, but it would need to be worldwide.
This is a tired old trick I saw all the time in the public sector. If you want to look like you’re doing something without actually doing much of anything, form a “committee” or “task force!” The Sheriff is just making a bunch of smoke and mirrors because the SBSO got a substantial grant for trafficking without anything to show for it except booking a few johns. Retire Bill! You always looked miserable every time I saw you anyways, go drink mai tais on a beach or ride into the sunset, buddy.