SANTA CRUZ — A recently published Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury report found that human trafficking in the county goes largely unrecognized and unreported, which is reflected at the state and federal levels.
According to the 28-page report, “Human trafficking is defined by the U.S. Department of Justice as a crime involving the exploitation of a person for labor, services, or commercial sex.”
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The report states that many Americans believe human trafficking is not something that happens in the United States but in other countries. However, the National Institute of Justice, cited in the report, found that 85% of human trafficking cases go unreported, which could potentially add up to 5,000-10,000 cases per year in California, with adolescents and teenagers especially vulnerable.
According to data from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, California had the eighth highest number of victims per capita at about 29 victims per 100,000 residents. In 2023, California had approximately 1,130 reported cases of human trafficking, which involved 2,045 victims and roughly 60% of the cases involved sex trafficking.
According to the report, “The California Department of Justice determined that human trafficking, both sex and labor trafficking, is the fastest-growing criminal enterprise globally and is increasing in California. This is because human trafficking is a very lucrative business. Unlike drug sales, the commodity (sex or forced labor) can be sold over and over.”
To compile the report, the Grand Jury interviewed human trafficking survivors, law enforcement officers with the county and various cities, local nonprofits that focus on helping human trafficking victims, along with farmworker advocates, homeless outreach workers and school and county administrators. The jurors also researched human trafficking, obtaining supporting documentation from interviewees and Public Records Act requests.
The report states that one local nonprofit interviewed by members of the Grand Jury said it receives about five to seven calls from victims of human trafficking each week but estimated that there are as many as 200 sex trafficking victims in Santa Cruz County in the same time frame. Another nonprofit told the Grand Jury that it has helped about 20 human trafficking victims in the past three years who were between the ages of 12 and 18. A separate agency reported helping between eight and 10 victims each year. The Santa Cruz County Office of Education said that it was aware of at least four suspected cases of sex trafficking within the past four years, and two reported cases in the 2024-2025 school year.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, cited in the Grand Jury report, about 51% of all human trafficking victims in the world are adult women, 20% are girls under the age of 18, while 21% of victims are adult men, and 8% are boys under 18.
The most vulnerable populations to human trafficking locally, as identified in the report, are school-aged children, youth in foster care, homeless and runaway youth, young adults experiencing poverty and addiction, and undocumented farmworkers. The report states that children, teens and young adults are at even higher risk with the emergence of social media, where young people can potentially befriend sexual predators and human traffickers.
The findings contain three composite examples of human trafficking scenarios using details provided by local service providers and actual local trafficking cases. The authors point out that all the examples have three components: recruitment, harboring and coercion. One scenario describes a situation where an 18-year-old called Kathy is invited to a party hosted by a trafficker named John.
“At the party,” the report describes, “Kathy and her friends are provided alcohol and drugs. John offers Kathy what sounds like a great opportunity to make good money. He claims to be a professional photographer and offers her work as a model. He tells her a time and day to meet. After this meeting, Kathy decides to run away from home and drop out of school. John takes her on a shopping spree for the designer clothes she ‘needs’ for modeling work. In exchange, she hands over her phone and identification. Kathy is now isolated, making it difficult for her to seek help. She is told that she now ‘owes’ him for his gifts, and she must work off the debt. Soon, he is taking her from city to city, where she is forced into sex trafficking.”
Through interviews with members of the District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Office and city police departments, the Civil Grand Jury learned that few cases of human trafficking are identified and fewer still that are prosecuted in Santa Cruz County. Most cases of human trafficking go unreported, the report finds, in the county and elsewhere because oftentimes victims have committed crimes themselves, such as prostitution or recruiting others to be trafficked and are afraid to be charged. Other factors include the fear of being sexually assaulted by a law enforcement officer and Stockholm syndrome, where the victim sides with their trafficker. Human trafficking cases are also difficult to investigate and prosecute because victims are often moved frequently by traffickers to avoid detection, among other factors.
Local law enforcement agreed that human trafficking does occur in the county, but few cases are brought to their attention. The report states that, “In Grand Jury interviews with law enforcement for this investigation, the Jury perceived that officers are sincere in their desire to address the human trafficking problem in our County, but acknowledge that the obstacles outlined here are difficult barriers to overcome.”
The Grand Jury composed 10 recommendations in the report, which include the establishment of a dedicated Santa Cruz County Department of Human Services staff member to consolidate data about human trafficking and lead a countywide coalition, coordinating with Monterey and San Benito counties to create a regional committee devoted to tracking and preventing human trafficking, and requiring all law enforcement agencies to conduct an annual human trafficking awareness training, among other recommendations.
To read the report, visit santacruzcountyca.gov.