It’s been estimated that 100,000 youth nationwide are at risk for human trafficking.
It’s a problem also found across California and the Bay Area.
In the East Bay on Tuesday night, a public town hall meeting is being held to find solutions.
Over the last seven years in Alameda County, more than 4,700 youth were identified as being at risk or already involved in commercial sexual exploitation.
More than half of those kids were runaways, a quarter was dealing with mental health issues, and 98 percent were girls.
In Dublin on Tuesday, State Assemblywoman Catharine Baker sponsored a town hall meeting to bring together law enforcement, the public, and local non-profits who deal with human trafficking.
The goal is to find ways to confront the issue and help those in need.
She says the problem is widespread.
“Criminal enterprises look for opportunity in places where you don’t expect there to be human trafficking,” Baker said. “In neighborhoods, in small hotels, in restaurants, in transportation systems, that’s where we are finding it.”
Also at Tuesday’s town hall was a sergeant with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office who specializes in human trafficking cases. Because of the sensitive nature of his work, he asked that we not reveal his identity.
He says that in recent years, human trafficking operations across the Bay Area have gotten bolder.
“It’s gotten a lot more prevalent that in years past,” the sergeant said. “It’s more upfront.”
But both Baker and the sheriff’s office believe that through proactive investigation, community outreach, and legislative action, human trafficking can be reduced.
Everyone can work together to spot it, prevent it, and prosecute it.