Why Are L.A. Cops Arresting Trafficking Victims?

Recently, Los Angeles police recently raided Club 907, a "hostess club," which was an obvious front for a brothel. Despite clear indicators of human trafficking at the club, including over 80 undocumented immigrant women working as "dancers" and evidence of drugs and prostitution, police arrested the women and treated them like criminals. Tell the LAPD to investigate human trafficking at Club 907, and to stop arresting potential sex trafficking victims.

While human trafficking can be difficult to identify, there are some massive, bright red flags that any police officer with a scrap of training and common sense should be able to spot. Underground brothel thinly disguised as a legitimate-if-shady business? Flag. Large numbers of undocumented women working in vague-sounding occupations like "dancers" or "hostesses"? Flag. Huge numbers of men coming and going, illegal drug use, etc.? Flag. Club 907 was full of so many red flags, it could have been a communist rally. Yet police ignored that wave of crimson and took the easy way out -- arresting everyone without discretion.

As if ignoring all those red flags wasn't bad enough, the LAPD actually arrested a 17-year-old girl, who by virtue of her age is automatically a trafficking victim. The girl had even been reported missing by her family. Yet somehow, it didn't occur to the LAPD  that if one trafficking victim was kidnapped and forced to work at Club 907, perhaps others were as well. Lauren Markhem over on the Immigrant Rights blog posits that while illegal activities were the excuse given for the raid, it was really nothing more than an immigration raid in disguise. And if illegal activity was really what the LAPD were chasing, you'd think they'd jump at the chance to prosecute modern-day slavery over the minor false documentation charges under which most of the women were arrested. Maybe the LAPD doesn't really care about helping human trafficking victims.

Arresting human trafficking victims can have devastating affects on them. This is especially true for immigrant victims, many of whom have been conditioned to fear the police. Traffickers often tell immigrant victims that American cops will beat, arrest, or deport them if they seek help, as a means to keep them enslaved. Sadly, the Los Angeles police just made good on the promises of many traffickers by arresting these potential victims from Club 907. They played right into the criminals' hands.

In situations with human trafficking red flags, police should always treat potential victims as victims, not criminals. They should work with local NGOs or victim advocates to interview the victims about their experiences and identify if they were held against their will. And whether women involved in prostitution are documented or undocumented, willing participants or trafficking victims, police should always respect their basic rights. Tell the LAPD to investigate human trafficking at Club 907 and stop arresting potential human trafficking victims!

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