17 Arrested In Oakland Police Sting Targeting Prostitution, Human Trafficking

OAKLAND (KCBS) – More than a dozen women and one juvenile were arrested during a police sting in Oakland Wednesday night targeting prostitution and human trafficking, part of an effort to get the women off the street and connected with services to help them escape the lifestyle.

The majority of those taken into custody for prostitution were not from Oakland, but from other Bay Area cities.

"It is our opinion they are all victims. They're engaged in criminal activity," said Lt. Kevin Wiley with the Oakland Police Department. "They may believe it's by their own choice, but when you get into the dynamics, the victimology of why someone is out in the city streets of Oakland prostituting, you find there is an abusive background to how they were groomed and put out on the street and how they're kept out on the street."

Police said that most of those arrested are under the age of 30.

Thanks to federal and state grants, the Oakland Police Department said it has been able to conduct 53 human trafficking operations this year and are closing in on 600 arrests.

Lt. Wiley said that they are not looking to arrest their way out of the problem, but that this is a way to get the women off the street, out of the lifestyle and connected with resources and services.

More Stories:

In:
• Prostitution
• Oakland