Contra Costa County Grand Jury
• 2015-2016
• Agency Response
Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff David O. Livingston Sheriff - Coroner July 7, 2016 The Honorable John T*
⚠️ 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: F12, F13
Findings and Recommendations 12 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: Agree.
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. The recommendation has been implemented. The Office of the Sheriff Response: supports expanded training for Human Trafficking. Detectives assigned to investigate Human Trafficking have received Human Trafficking training within the past 6 months. Additionally, detectives will avail themselves to additional training opportunities as they become available.
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 receive equal consideration. Response: Agree.
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. The recommendation has been implemented. The Office of the Sheriff Response: currently collaborates with the FBI and other governmental entities to conduct sweeps and sting operations. These operations occur multiple times per year.
F3
Effectively identifying and apprehending traffickers requires knowledge of the local environment and criminal activities acquired through years of experience. Response: Agree.
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 activity to assist in identifying trafficking activities. The recommendation has been implemented. The Office of the Sheriff Response: routinely collaborates with the FBI and other governmental entities who identify and target drug, gang, and prostitution activity. The Office of the Sheriff has personnel assigned to the Contra Costa County's SAFE Streets Task Force and the Contra Costa County Anti-violence Support Effort. The Office of the Sheriff also operates a Vice Unit and a Special Victims Unit. These units contain detectives specially trained to identify and target human trafficking and associated crimes. Additionally, beginning in May of 2016, the Office of the Sheriff assigned a detective from the Special Victims Unit to participate on the Contra Costa County Human Trafficking Multidisciplinary Team. 3 of 3
F4
Most police officer training related to human trafficking is acquired through working with more experienced officers and victim advocates. Agree. Response:
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: Agree.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
Successful apprehension and prosecution of traffickers often involves coordination and cooperation among local, State and federal agencies. Response: Agree.
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 trafficking victims. More data that is complete is needed to define 1 of 3 the magnitude of the problem and to support decisions about victim services and resource allocation. Response: Agree.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
City law enforcement and Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department does not always use resources offered by State and federal for joint "sting" and "sweep" operations. Disagree. The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office utilizes all of the Response: resources available when conducting "sting" and "sweep" operations. These resources include but are not limited to FBI High Tech agents, FBI victim advocates, and FBI agents.
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: Agree.
No recommendations for this finding
F10
The use of specialist multidisciplinary teams in high crime areas can increase the likelihood that trafficking will be recognized as a component of other crimes. Response: Agree.
No recommendations for this finding
F11
Public awareness is a critical factor in identifying potential human trafficking activity. Response: Agree.
No recommendations for this finding
F14
A comprehensive approach to dealing with human trafficking includes 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. Agree. Response: 2 of 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.