emeritrix<p>What's all this about Human Trafficking?</p><p>The mayor of Portland calls for increasing funds for policing (<a href="https://www.portland.gov/mayor/keith-wilson/news/2025/5/2/portland-rising-mayor-keith-wilson-delivers-state-city-address" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">portland.gov/mayor/keith-wilso</span><span class="invisible">n/news/2025/5/2/portland-rising-mayor-keith-wilson-delivers-state-city-address</span></a>), invoking the need to "combat human trafficking and violent crime," while admitting that homicide rates are declining (other violent and property crimes are also declining, though that is not mentioned). </p><p>(<a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/portlandpolicebureau/viz/New_Monthly_Neighborhood/MonthlyOffenseTotals" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">public.tableau.com/app/profile</span><span class="invisible">/portlandpolicebureau/viz/New_Monthly_Neighborhood/MonthlyOffenseTotals</span></a>)</p><p>March 2024-Feb 2025 <br>9770 person crimes<br>46,116 property crimes</p><p>March 2023-Feb 2024<br>10,082 person<br>50,830 property</p><p>March 2022-Feb 2023<br>10,142 person <br>59,141 property</p><p>Although the PPB has a "Human Trafficking" unit, they don't seem to make many arrests for trafficking. They report three felony arrests this year for coercing prostitution (<a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/portlandpolicebureau/viz/Arrests_OpenData_Dashboard_Accessible_16922014118140/Overview" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">public.tableau.com/app/profile</span><span class="invisible">/portlandpolicebureau/viz/Arrests_OpenData_Dashboard_Accessible_16922014118140/Overview</span></a>) <br>and none for labor trafficking, though it is considered more common (<a href="https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/human-trafficking/labor-trafficking" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">humantraffickinghotline.org/en</span><span class="invisible">/human-trafficking/labor-trafficking</span></a>)</p><p>U.S. law defines human trafficking as the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel a person into commercial sex acts or labor or services against his or her will, or as inducing a minor into commercial sex regardless of the presence of force, fraud, or coercion. <br><a href="https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/human-trafficking" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">humantraffickinghotline.org/en</span><span class="invisible">/human-trafficking</span></a></p><p>The vast majority of reports I have found of PPB "Human Trafficking Missions" involve people (not minors) arrested for ORS 167.008 Commercial Sexual Solicitation (CSS) and/or Portland City Code 14A.40.50 Unlawful Prostitution Procurement Activities (UPPA). (I'm not linking to those, since the PPB reports the names of people charged, before they've been tried). The state law appears to apply to purchasers of sexual service, while the City law appears to apply to both buyers and sellers. The state law is a misdemeanor; the city law is also evidently a misdemeanor. </p><p>Since these cases are not trafficking, they presumably do not involve "force fraud, or coercion" or people under the age of consent. That is, these are not trafficking cases, but cases involving sex work. </p><p>Amnesty International calls for the decriminalization of sex work, based on evidence that criminalization makes sex workers less safe. <br><a href="https://www.amnestyusa.org/issues/gender-sexuality/sex-work-rights/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">amnestyusa.org/issues/gender-s</span><span class="invisible">exuality/sex-work-rights/</span></a><br>Per Amnesty, Sex work is the consensual exchange of sexual services between adults for some form of compensation. </p><p>Sex work is work. Sex workers must have full and quality access to health, reproductive, legal, and social services, and be free of arrest, discrimination, exploitation, harassment, and abuse, especially at the hands of police.<br>Amnesty International’s Policy on State Obligations to Respect, Protect, and Fulfill the Human Rights of Sex Workers calls on governments to protect, respect, and fulfill the rights of sex workers. <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol30/4062/2016/en/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">amnesty.org/en/documents/pol30</span><span class="invisible">/4062/2016/en/</span></a></p><p>Human Rights Watch also advocates decriminalization. <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/08/07/why-sex-work-should-be-decriminalized" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">hrw.org/news/2019/08/07/why-se</span><span class="invisible">x-work-should-be-decriminalized</span></a> </p><p>I imagine that people who are selling sex on 82nd avenue might be less inclined to pursue that line of work if they had access to good jobs, affordable housing, health care, & food (and if places they might be eating food, like the Community Free Store, were not subject to police harassment <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DG6iPMTSy6W/?img_index=1" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">instagram.com/p/DG6iPMTSy6W/?i</span><span class="invisible">mg_index=1</span></a>). </p><p>Perhaps instead of being arrested, sex workers could be offered jobs with the PPB, since it pays at least $82,000/year, with generous benefits, overtime possibilities that can bring that to over $300,000/year or more. Plus, moonlighting or double-dipping after retirement can increase income. </p><p>The city budget process is not the place to pursue legal changes like decriminalizing sex work. But it is worth considering what are priorities for enforcement as well as for funding, especially since increasing the police budget means decreasing the budgets for other services people need. </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PortlandOr" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PortlandOr</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PDX" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PDX</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Police" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Police</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SexWork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SexWork</span></a></p>