LOS ANGELES COUNTY >> The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will receive a $1.5 million federal grant to combat human trafficking, authorities announced Thursday.
The funding comes from $44 million in federal grant money set aside to fight human trafficking — “a wide variety of criminal conduct involving the exploitation of minor and adult victims who are compelled to engage in sex and labor and support its victims,” U.S. Department of Justice officials said in a written statement.
Los Angeles County is one of 16 sites across the nation to receive a grant to support a human trafficking task force. Each site receives funding for both law enforcement and victim support services.
Riverside County was awarded $1.4 million to fund a task force. Some of the task forces are county-wide or regional, while others operate statewide.
The DOJ will also add additional prosecutors specializing in human trafficking cases, officials said.
More than $22.7 million have been allocated for the 16 task forces, with the remainder of the federal grant money going to support victim services and research nationwide. The grant will be effective Oct. 1. 2015, through Sept. 30, 2018.
“As those who commit this horrible crime and prey on trafficking victims become more sophisticated, we must work together to find new and comprehensive strategies,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Kim McDonnell said. “If we are to truly make a difference in combatting human trafficking, we must do more than simply prosecute the wrong-doers. We need a regional, multi-disciplinary approach that enables us to cross jurisdictional and agency lines.
“Working with other justice system and community partners, we will be able to amplify our ability to rescue and address the needs of the victim; investigate, effectively punish and pro-actively prevent criminal misconduct; and address the demand side by recognizing that buyers of sex with minors should be viewed as child molesters and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
All too often, the victims of human trafficking are children, said Eilee Decker, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California.
“The devastating crime of human trafficking often is hidden behind the locked doors of a sweatshop or the supposedly ‘victimless’ crime of prostitution,” Decker said. “Law enforcement in Los Angeles is now redoubling efforts to combat this horrific offense with additional resources, improved training and a growing awareness that perpetrators are often victimizing children. I am fully committed to working with Sheriff Jim McDonnell — a national leader in this arena — to seeing that perpetrators of these offenses are brought to justice.”