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Agenda Item
5 26-0619 Subject: OPD Informational Report On Human Trafficking
From: Councilmember Wang
Recommendation: Receive An Informational Report From The City Administration As Required In Section 5 Of Ordinance 13873 As It Applies To Law Enforcement Activity, Prosecutorial Outcomes, Fiscal Outcomes, And Community Impact & Equity Review
Dear Chair Wang and Members of the Public Safety Committee,
My name is Anabel Velasquez, MBA, President and Co-Founder of Justice Advocates Battling Exploitation & Lies (JABEL), a survivor-led nonprofit supporting individuals impacted by human trafficking, sexual assault, and domestic violence.
I stood alongside survivors and advocates earlier this year in support of Ordinance 13873 because it represented accountability for those creating and profiting from exploitation, while directing resources toward survivors.
OPD’s report shows 103 buyer arrests and four trafficker arrests in 2026. But accountability cannot end with an arrest. Survivors need housing, transportation, therapy, legal advocacy, emergency relocation, and other immediate services.
We are asking the City to fully implement Ordinance 13873, establish a clear process for assessing and collecting authorized fines, provide transparent reporting, and ensure Survivor Support Fund dollars reach survivor-centered services.
Survivors showed up when this ordinance was being considered. We are showing up again because passing an ordinance is only the beginning—implementation is what gives it meaning.
Respectfully,
Anabel Velasquez, MBA
President & Co-Founder, JABEL
My name is Madison Barton, and I serve as Development Manager at Love Never Fails. Through our work in Oakland and across the Bay Area, I see how urgently survivors need safe housing, food, transportation, case management, mental health support, and pathways to long-term stability.
I support the full implementation of this ordinance. Accountability cannot stop at an arrest. The City’s own reporting requirements call for tracking fines assessed, fines collected, and dollars deposited into the Human Trafficking Survivor Support Fund. Those resources were created to support victim assistance, outreach, education, and workforce development.
I urge the City to clarify who is responsible for processing these fines, ensure the necessary staffing is in place, and provide a clear timeline for implementation. Survivors and community organizations need more than a policy on paper. We need consistent follow-through so the ordinance can function as intended and resources can reach the people it was designed to support.
Thank you for prioritizing implementation and accountability.
Megan Escoto, Survivor & Advocate
at September 21, 2026 at 4:26pm PDT
Buyers are continuing to pay for access to women’s bodies because no real consequences are stopping them or deterring them.
The ordinance pass to collect fines with a good start, but it’s not getting implemented and so buyers are not going to take this seriously.
It needs to be implemented right away so that people can start facing consequences and victims can get the support that they need.
As a survivor who spent nearly eight years trapped in sex trafficking before escaping with my infant son, I know intimately that this industry exists because buyers create the demand. When buyers face zero real consequences, traffickers thrive, and women and children pay the price with their lives and safety. Organizations like Love Never Fails were the literal lifeline that gave me and my child safe shelter, clothing, diapers, and the trauma-informed support necessary to rebuild our lives when we had nowhere else to turn.
An estimated $1.6 million in uncollected fines could directly fund under-resourced exit services—emergency hotel vouchers, food, transitional housing, childcare supplies, and legal advocacy. Survivors trying to flee abuse are turned away or left in danger every day simply because community programs lack sufficient funding.
My name is Heidy. I’m a human trafficking policy consultant and survivor advocate.
I appreciate the City’s and council member Wang and Bridget Ruiz Rivezzo’s effort to hold sex buyers accountable, but an ordinance is only meaningful if it is implemented.
Based on the numbers we have reviewed, Oakland has already lost the opportunity to collect fines over the past few months.
Those resources could help protect our children and youth, give them opportunities to become our next generation of leaders, and provide survivor-centered exit strategies for adults trying to escape exploitation.
A industry where people are raped, experience violence, torture, and even murder. Survivors need more than an arrest. They need housing, food, transportation, case management, and real pathways to safety and independence.
We are asking the City: Who is responsible for processing these fines? When will the necessary staffing be in place? And when will these resources actually reach prevention and survivor services?
Accountability doesn’t end with an arrest. It requires implementation, resources, and follow-through.
My name is Mariah Rief, and I am a survivor of sex trafficking and an advocate working to combat sexual exploitation.
Passing Ordinance 13873 sent an important message: those who create the demand for commercial sexual exploitation should be held accountable, and that accountability should directly support survivors.
But passing an ordinance is not enough. If arrests are being made while fines are not being processed and $0 is reaching the Survivor & Victim Fund, the ordinance is not accomplishing what it was created to do.
Survivors need more than promises on paper. We need implementation, accountability, and resources that actually reach the people they were intended to serve.
I ask the City of Oakland to prioritize staffing, process these fines, and fully implement Ordinance 13873. The ordinance was passed. Now survivors deserve to see it enforced.
My name is Vanessa Johnson. I am the Founding Executive Director of Love Never Fails and organization which has been addressing the issue of human trafficking in Oakland for the last 15 years searching for missing children and providing emergency and long-term services such as housing, case management, and career development. We were so grateful to Council member Wang and the rest of city officials for passing Ordinance 13873 on February 17, 2026 and subsequently approving the allocation of funding for a paralegal to process fines. This ordinance holds sex buyers accountable for the harm they are doing to precious Oakland children and vulnerable adults by requiring fines for loitering for the purpose of prostitution. Over 400 arrests have been made since February yet not one fine has been collected. Sadly, this amounts to a minimum of $1.6M that we have missed the opportunity to collect; this should've been used to address the tremendous gap in funding in human trafficking victim services starting with emergency exits, food, housing, etc. but importantly the lack of a sense of urgent follow through is sending a daily message to buyers that Oakland IS STILL OPEN for SEX BUYING of our children and vulnerable adults. Please prioritize this ordinance and process these fines so that sex buyers understand that our children are not for sale! We look forward to hearing your report and plan of action on hiring the necessary staff to expeditiously process these fines.
Dear Chair Wang and Members of the Public Safety Committee,
My name is Anabel Velasquez, MBA, President and Co-Founder of Justice Advocates Battling Exploitation & Lies (JABEL), a survivor-led nonprofit supporting individuals impacted by human trafficking, sexual assault, and domestic violence.
I stood alongside survivors and advocates earlier this year in support of Ordinance 13873 because it represented accountability for those creating and profiting from exploitation, while directing resources toward survivors.
OPD’s report shows 103 buyer arrests and four trafficker arrests in 2026. But accountability cannot end with an arrest. Survivors need housing, transportation, therapy, legal advocacy, emergency relocation, and other immediate services.
We are asking the City to fully implement Ordinance 13873, establish a clear process for assessing and collecting authorized fines, provide transparent reporting, and ensure Survivor Support Fund dollars reach survivor-centered services.
Survivors showed up when this ordinance was being considered. We are showing up again because passing an ordinance is only the beginning—implementation is what gives it meaning.
Respectfully,
Anabel Velasquez, MBA
President & Co-Founder, JABEL
My name is Madison Barton, and I serve as Development Manager at Love Never Fails. Through our work in Oakland and across the Bay Area, I see how urgently survivors need safe housing, food, transportation, case management, mental health support, and pathways to long-term stability.
I support the full implementation of this ordinance. Accountability cannot stop at an arrest. The City’s own reporting requirements call for tracking fines assessed, fines collected, and dollars deposited into the Human Trafficking Survivor Support Fund. Those resources were created to support victim assistance, outreach, education, and workforce development.
I urge the City to clarify who is responsible for processing these fines, ensure the necessary staffing is in place, and provide a clear timeline for implementation. Survivors and community organizations need more than a policy on paper. We need consistent follow-through so the ordinance can function as intended and resources can reach the people it was designed to support.
Thank you for prioritizing implementation and accountability.
Buyers are continuing to pay for access to women’s bodies because no real consequences are stopping them or deterring them.
The ordinance pass to collect fines with a good start, but it’s not getting implemented and so buyers are not going to take this seriously.
It needs to be implemented right away so that people can start facing consequences and victims can get the support that they need.
As a survivor who spent nearly eight years trapped in sex trafficking before escaping with my infant son, I know intimately that this industry exists because buyers create the demand. When buyers face zero real consequences, traffickers thrive, and women and children pay the price with their lives and safety. Organizations like Love Never Fails were the literal lifeline that gave me and my child safe shelter, clothing, diapers, and the trauma-informed support necessary to rebuild our lives when we had nowhere else to turn.
An estimated $1.6 million in uncollected fines could directly fund under-resourced exit services—emergency hotel vouchers, food, transitional housing, childcare supplies, and legal advocacy. Survivors trying to flee abuse are turned away or left in danger every day simply because community programs lack sufficient funding.
Good afternoon, Councilmembers.
My name is Heidy. I’m a human trafficking policy consultant and survivor advocate.
I appreciate the City’s and council member Wang and Bridget Ruiz Rivezzo’s effort to hold sex buyers accountable, but an ordinance is only meaningful if it is implemented.
Based on the numbers we have reviewed, Oakland has already lost the opportunity to collect fines over the past few months.
Those resources could help protect our children and youth, give them opportunities to become our next generation of leaders, and provide survivor-centered exit strategies for adults trying to escape exploitation.
A industry where people are raped, experience violence, torture, and even murder. Survivors need more than an arrest. They need housing, food, transportation, case management, and real pathways to safety and independence.
We are asking the City: Who is responsible for processing these fines? When will the necessary staffing be in place? And when will these resources actually reach prevention and survivor services?
Accountability doesn’t end with an arrest. It requires implementation, resources, and follow-through.
Thank you.
My name is Mariah Rief, and I am a survivor of sex trafficking and an advocate working to combat sexual exploitation.
Passing Ordinance 13873 sent an important message: those who create the demand for commercial sexual exploitation should be held accountable, and that accountability should directly support survivors.
But passing an ordinance is not enough. If arrests are being made while fines are not being processed and $0 is reaching the Survivor & Victim Fund, the ordinance is not accomplishing what it was created to do.
Survivors need more than promises on paper. We need implementation, accountability, and resources that actually reach the people they were intended to serve.
I ask the City of Oakland to prioritize staffing, process these fines, and fully implement Ordinance 13873. The ordinance was passed. Now survivors deserve to see it enforced.
My name is Vanessa Johnson. I am the Founding Executive Director of Love Never Fails and organization which has been addressing the issue of human trafficking in Oakland for the last 15 years searching for missing children and providing emergency and long-term services such as housing, case management, and career development. We were so grateful to Council member Wang and the rest of city officials for passing Ordinance 13873 on February 17, 2026 and subsequently approving the allocation of funding for a paralegal to process fines. This ordinance holds sex buyers accountable for the harm they are doing to precious Oakland children and vulnerable adults by requiring fines for loitering for the purpose of prostitution. Over 400 arrests have been made since February yet not one fine has been collected. Sadly, this amounts to a minimum of $1.6M that we have missed the opportunity to collect; this should've been used to address the tremendous gap in funding in human trafficking victim services starting with emergency exits, food, housing, etc. but importantly the lack of a sense of urgent follow through is sending a daily message to buyers that Oakland IS STILL OPEN for SEX BUYING of our children and vulnerable adults. Please prioritize this ordinance and process these fines so that sex buyers understand that our children are not for sale! We look forward to hearing your report and plan of action on hiring the necessary staff to expeditiously process these fines.