Leaders discuss human trafficking in Riverside County

Tatiana Sanchez
The Desert Sun

Coachella Valley leaders discussed the scope of human trafficking in Riverside County on Wednesday, a longstanding issue in the region that is as difficult to tackle as it is to understand.

The annual briefing, hosted by Safehouse of the Desert at its Thousand Palms location, discussed the latest anti-human trafficking legislation, public safety efforts and victim services, as well as common trends.

The organization provides emergency shelter, intervention and outreach to youth in crisis, including victims of human trafficking, some of whom are as young as 12 years old.

"For all the types of groups of youth I've worked with, this is the toughest. It's tough to hear their stories. It's tough to hear about what's going on in our backyard," supervising therapist Ann Miller said of the tragic stories she hears from victims.

"It's a step away from all of us. It's right there in front of us," she said.

The event drew representatives from several nonprofits and county agencies as well as activists and concerned residents, some of whom traveled from as far away as Riverside and Temecula to attend.

Speakers included Miller; Patricia Scully, a legislative aid for Assemblyman Chad Mayes; Danny Engels, deputy sheriff with the Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force; Mauné Vaca, senior case manager at Safehouse; Kristen Dolan, human trafficking director at Safehouse; and Ashley Dickerson, a human trafficking victim.

Engels said a critical aspect of combating human trafficking is establishing strong connections between law enforcement and local organizations or agencies who might be able to help address the issue.

The task force, which includes only four officers, is often strapped for resources and depends heavily on community involvement, Engels said.

Currently, the task force has about 125 open human trafficking cases.

Engels also said a common trend police see is human traffickers transporting their victims to different cities and states as a way to stay ahead of police. Local law enforcement agencies have come across human traffickers from Phoenix, Seattle, Los Angeles, Northern California and several other locations, he said.

Described as "modern-day slavery," human trafficking is the second largest criminal industry in the world, according to the task force.

There are more than 27 million victims of human trafficking across the world and up to 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year, according to the task force.

Though they are often mistaken to be the same, human trafficking and human smuggling are two different crimes. While human smuggling takes place when people are brought across international borders illegally, human trafficking involves the exploitation of a person, whether it be through sex or labor trafficking.

Dickerson, a community outreach specialist for Safehouse of the Desert and a human trafficking survivor, said it's often difficult for victims to leave "the life" out of fear of starting over again. Dickerson left the life after 14 years.

Dickerson gives awareness presentations around the Coachella Valley to educate people on the topic but is also on hand as a mentor for the young women who stay at a group home at Safehouse.

"They want to feel like somebody's there. They don't want to be judged," she said.

Residents wishing to contact the Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force with information on potential human trafficking cases are asked to call the following hotline and leave a message: (855) 758-3733.

Tatiana Sanchez is the Equality and Immigration reporter for The Desert Sun. She can be reached at (760) 778-6443, by email at Tatiana.sanchez@desertsun.com or on Twitter, @TatianaYSanchez.