The Brentwood Police Department highlighted that between February 6, 2022 and February 12, 2022 our agency partnered with the Contra Costa County Human Trafficking Task Force (CCCHTTF) in a state-wide operation dubbed “Operation Reclaim and Rebuild.”
The operation involved more than 80 federal, state, and local agencies across California who partnered with victim advocacy groups. The purpose of the operation was to safely rescue and identify sexually exploited victims; however, to also identify and apprehend suspected human traffickers.
In total 494 criminal arrests were made statewide, while 74 adults and 8 juveniles were rescued from sexual exploitation. Of those 494 arrested, 201 were sex buyers and 34 were suspected traffickers.
Our local agencies focused on enforcement operations wherever the trafficking of human beings took place, from confronting the reality of sidewalk prostitution to challenging the virtual reality of the cyber world where traffickers believe they can operate anonymously using the internet. But don’t take our word for it – the results speak for themselves! CCCHTTF made a total of 28 arrests and recovered a total of 8 firearms while a total of 18 commercial sex workers were contacted and provided victim services.
While this was a great success, one of our agency’s ongoing goals is to continue our efforts to stop modern day slavery. Our partnership with CCCHTTF is an example of how individual agencies can be far more effective when they join together in a shared mission. If you or anyone you know is a victim of human trafficking, we are here for you.
For more information, you can go to humantraffickinghotline.org and contracostacoalition.org to find out more about the various forms of human trafficking and what you can do to help.
