UCLA symposium highlights issue of human trafficking in California

California Attorney General Kamala Harris said she thinks the state should take a more preventative approach to its human trafficking problem at a symposium Friday organized by the UCLA School of Law.

Harris’ address in the Ackerman Grand Ballroom was the keynote presentation of a two-day-long symposium on human trafficking called “Examining the Roots of Human Trafficking and Exploitation.”

The UCLA School of Law chose human trafficking as the topic of this year’s symposium because the issue has received increased media attention in recent years, as more research has indicated that California is one of the top three states for human trafficking.

This finding, part of a 2012 report by the U.S. State Department, also lists Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego as among the top 10 cities for human trafficking in the country.

Harris said she thinks the state needs to act pre-emptively to reduce the conditions that lead children into the human trafficking market rather than focusing most of its efforts on helping those already in the market get out.

“If you have a health epidemic, what is the best way to deal with it?” she asked the audience of about 300. “Prevention first, there’s no question.”

In her speech, Harris was particularly concerned with the state’s foster care system because she thinks it lacks sufficient funding to help children stay off the streets after leaving the system.

“In L.A. County, 59 percent of children arrested for prostitution came out of the foster system,” she said, citing a 2010 study. “Our system is not working.”

She also pointed out that she thinks the attitude of law enforcement officers toward children arrested for prostitution needs to change if the state wants to do a better job at identifying the leaders of the illegal trade.

“We cannot treat our witnesses like criminals,” she said.

Harris announced her plans this year to unveil the state’s new Bureau of Children’s Justice, a division of the California Department of Justice. The bureau will aim to help change the processes law enforcement officers use when they arrest child prostitutes so they can more easily find the leaders of the trade, she said.

Harris has received media attention over the past weeks since she announced plans to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Barbara Boxer. She did not speak about her bid at the event Friday.

Compiled by Rafael Sands, Bruin contributor.