Contra Costa County Grand Jury
• 2015-2016
• Agency Response
Human Trafficking*
⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F10, F12, F13
Findings and Recommendations 11 findings
F1
The San Francisco Bay Area is one of three "hot spots" for human trafficking in California, along with Los Angeles and San Diego. Response: The City of Pittsburg agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
City law enforcement agencies and the Sheriff's Department should consider incorporating expanded training for officers assigned to trafficking related- duties. Response: The City of Pittsburg agrees with this recommendation and currently incorporates training for officers. The police department has a detective assigned to This detective, along with additional investigative investigate human trafficking cases. personnel, has received expanded training related to human trafficking. They have provided training to officers internally as well as countywide.
F2
The emphasis in human trafficking cases has shifted from solely prosecution to a "victim centered" approach in which the needs of persons who have been trafficked received equal consideration. Response: The City of Pittsburg agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
City law enforcement agencies and the Sheriff's Department should consider increasing collaboration with State and federal law enforcement to expand "sweeps" and "stings" in high crime areas. Response: The City of Pittsburg agrees with this recommendation and currently works actively with State and Federal law enforcement organizations. The police department currently has a supervisor assigned to a federal task force. One of the focus areas of this task force has become human trafficking as related crimes.
F3
Effectively identifying and apprehending traffickers requires knowledge of the local environment and criminal activities acquired through years of experience. Response: The City of Pittsburg partially agrees with this finding. All Pittsburg Police officers receive in-house training on the identification of victims and suspects in human trafficking. All officers work collaboratively with experienced officers and victim advocates through the remainder of the process.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
City law enforcement agencies and the Sheriff's department should consider the benefits of assigning multidisciplinary teams in areas with significant drug, gang, and/or prostitution to assist in identifying trafficking activities. The City of Pittsburg agrees with this recommendation and currently Response: participates in three (3) multidisciplinary teams. These teams range from local, state and federal levels. Two of these teams focus directly on violence and enforcing crimes that often involve human trafficking and the other team has a mental health component that can be used as a resource for human trafficking victims. Respectfully, Joe Sbranti City Manager
F4
Most police officer training related to human trafficking is acquired through working with more experienced officers and victim advocates. Response: The City of Pittsburg agrees with this finding. •- • Grand Jury September 16, 2016
No recommendations for this finding
F5
The required two-hour POST Training Video in dealing with human trafficking complaints provides a general basis, but more intensive training found in the POST 2014 training manual contains in-depth coverage of the issues important to officers assigned to trafficking cases. Response: The City of Pittsburg agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
Successful apprehension and prosecution of traffickers often involves coordination and cooperation among local, State, and federal agencies. Response: The City of Pittsburg agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
City law enforcement and Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department have no comprehensive or consistent method for analyzing data about the number and type of adult human trafficking victims. More data that is complete is needed to define the magnitude of the problem and to support decisions about victim services and resource allocation. Response: The City of Pittsburg agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
City law enforcement and Contra Costa Sheriff's Department does not always use resources offered by State and federal for joint "sting" and "sweep" operations. Response: The City of Pittsburg disagrees with this finding. The police department encourages involvement with the state and federal levels for joint "sting" and "sweep" operations. Several operations have been conducted with state and federal agencies and we welcome this partnership.
No recommendations for this finding
F9
Trafficking frequently occurs in combination with other violent crimes and its victims often have a history of abuse and trauma. Response: The City of Pittsburg agrees with this finding. The use of specialist multidisciplinary teams in high crime areas can Findina #10: increase the likelihood that trafficking will be recognized as a component of other crimes. Response: The City of Pittsburg agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F11
Public awareness is a critical factor in identifying potential human trafficking activity. Response: The City of Pittsburg agrees with this finding. A comprehensive approach to dealing with human trafficking includes
No recommendations for this finding
F14
robust community engagement; training law enforcement in responding to human trafficking incidents; vigorous prosecution of perpetrators; education of and advocacy to policy makers; and wrap-around services for victims/survivors. Grand Jury September 16, 2016 Response: The City of Pittsburg agrees with this finding. City's Response to Grand Jury Recommendations 1,2,3
No recommendations for this finding
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.