Measuring the Nature and Extent of Gang Involvement in Sex Trafficking in San Diego, Executive Summary

• NCJ Number: 249246
• Author(s): Ami Carpenter; Jamie Gates
• Date Published: October 2015
• Length: 5 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2012-R2-CX-0028
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Summary); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored)

Annotation

Based on data obtained from 1,205 individuals (hundreds of current and former gang members, schools, law enforcement agencies, and victim service providers), this is the executive summary of a study that examined the nature and extent of street-gang activities as facilitators of sex trafficking in San Diego, CA.

Abstract

Producing an estimated $810 million annually, sex trafficking is San Diego's second largest underground economy after drug trafficking. The study found that at least 110 gangs are involved in the commercial exploitation of individuals for commercial sex trafficking. Gang members composed 85 percent of pimps/sex-trafficking facilitators. The sample of sex traffickers in prison who were interviewed for this study was composed of approximately the same number of Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. Based on the interviews conducted for this study, clients of commercial sex are from all socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. Recruitment into commercial sex was determined to be happening on high school and middle school campuses. The study used mixed methods in collecting and synthesizing data. They included a Survivor Services Dataset from a prostitution first-offender diversion program, law enforcement incident reporting, school focus groups, and interviews with individuals involved in or knowledgeable about sex trafficking.