Trafficking arrests double

As O.C. cracks down on pimping, arrests on related charges double over two-year period.

2013 figures for O.C. show a two-year rise in human trafficking cases.

As Orange County authorities continue to target pimps, a new report has found that the number of people arrested on suspicion of crimes related to human trafficking more than doubled from 2011 to 2013.

The figures released last week by the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force show there were 24 arrests in 2011, 37 in 2012 and 52 in 2013. The report also found that, on average, eight new human trafficking victims were identified every month.

Lita Mercado, program director for Community Service Programs, attributed the boost to officers keeping a more vigilant eye out for victims.

“I feel confident the increase is because of the increase in awareness and education in law enforcement,” said Mercado, whose organization is part of the task force. “I’m not sure that the crime has increased per se between 2011 and 2013.”

More officers are on the lookout for signs of human trafficking when they investigate sexual assault and domestic violence calls, and they’re asking pertinent questions, Mercado said. Since 2004, the task force has assisted more than 380 victims of human trafficking from 26 countries.

The report’s release coincides with the launch of the Orange County Transportation Authority’s publicawareness campaign on the issue. The “Be the One” campaign, which includes displays inside buses, en- courages residents to report possible victims.

The transportation agency will also train operators on how to spot and report the crimes.

“The more people understand what the signs are, the more those numbers [of arrests] are going to increase,” Mercado said.

The report also found that 65% of victims were U.S. citizens, and the rest were from countries including Mexico, China and the Philippines. The task force also identified victims from Iran, Kenya and North Korea for the first time. Nearly half were minors. Sex trafficking was the most common form of human trafficking, constituting 81% of cases, officials said. Many victims were forced into prostitution, stripping and pornography.

The Orange County district attorney’s office launched a unit last year that focuses on the crime. Prosecutors have won 50 convictions for pimping and pandering, with 48 of the defendants sentenced to state prison.

The department has about 50 human-traffickingrelated cases pending, said Susan Kang Schroeder, chief of staff for the district attorney’s office.

Prosecutors have seen victims with the names of their pimps tattooed on them, Schroeder said. Other victims have been waterboarded, burned with irons or dumped in cold bathtubs. Many are runaways who meet their pimps on the street, she said.

“The perpetrators are some of the most despicable human beings because of the callousness it takes to exploit another human being,” Schroeder said.