BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
                             Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:    SB 1322       Hearing Date:    April 19, 2016    
          
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          |Author:    |Mitchell                                             |
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          |Version:   |February 19, 2016                                    |
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          |Urgency:   |No                     |Fiscal:    |Yes              |
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          |Consultant:|JM                                                   |
          |           |                                                     |
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                       Subject:  Commercial Sex Acts:  Minors



          HISTORY

          Source:   Author

          Prior Legislation:None Known

          Support:  American Civil Liberties Union of California;  
                    California Attorneys for Criminal Justice; California  
                    Alliance; Child Abuse Prevention Center; Children Now;  
                    National Association of Social Workers; National  
                    Center for Youth Law

          Opposition:Alameda County District Attorney; California District  
          Attorneys Association

                                                


          PURPOSE

          The purpose of this bill is to 1) provide that a minor engaged  
          in commercial sexual activity will not be arrested for a  
          prostitution offense; 2) direct a law enforcement officer who  
          comes upon a minor engaged in a commercial sexual act to report  
          the conduct or situation to county social services as abuse or  







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          neglect; and 3) provide that a commercially exploited child  
          (CSEC) may be adjudged a dependent child of the juvenile court  
          and taken into temporary custody to protect the minor's health  
          or safety. 
            
          Sex Crimes Against Minors 
          
          Existing law defines "unlawful sexual intercourse" as an act of  
          sexual intercourse accomplished with a person under the age of  
          18 years, when no other aggravating elements - such as force or  
          duress - are present.  (Pen. Code § 261.5, subd. (a).) Existing  
          law provides the following penalties for unlawful sexual  
          intercourse: 

                 Where the defendant is not more than three years older  
               or three years younger than the minor, the offense is a  
               misdemeanor. 
                 Where the defendant is more than three years older than  
               the minor, the offense is an alternate felony-misdemeanor,  
               punishable by a jail term of up to one year, a fine of up  
               to $1,000, or both, or by a prison term of 16 months, two  
               years or three years and a fine of up $10,000. 
                 Where the defendant is at least 21 years of age and the  
               minor is under the age of 16, the offense is an alternate  
               felony-misdemeanor, punishable by a jail term of up to one  
               year, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, or by a prison term  
               of 16 months, two years or three years and a fine of up  
               $10,000.  (Pen. Code § 261.5, subd (b)-(d).) 

          Existing law provides that in the absence of aggravating  
          elements each crime of sodomy, oral copulation or penetration  
          with a foreign or unknown object with a minor is punishable as  
          follows:

                 Where the defendant is over 21 and the minor under 16  
               years of age, the offense is a felony, with a prison term  
               of 16 months, 2 years or 3 years.
                 In other cases sodomy with a minor is a wobbler, with a  
               felony prison term of 16 months, 2 years or 3 years.  (Pen.  
               Code §§ 286, subd. (b), 288a, subd. (b), 289, subd.  (h).)

          Existing law provides that where each crime of sodomy, oral  
          copulation or penetration with a foreign or unknown object with  
          a minor who is under 14 and the perpetrator is more than 10  








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          years older than the minor, the offense is a felony, punishable  
          by a prison term of 3, 6 or 8 years.  (Pen. Code §§ 286, subd.  
          (c)(1), 288a, subd. (c)(1), 289, subd. (j).)

          Existing law provides that any person who engages in lewd  
          conduct - any sexually motivated touching or a defined sex act -  
          with a child under the age of 14 is guilty of a felony,  
          punishable by a prison term of 3, 6 or 8 years. Where the  
          offense involves force or coercion, the prison term is 5, 8 or  
          10 years.  (Pen. Code § 288, subd. (b).)

          Existing law provides that where any person who engages in lewd  
          conduct with a child who is 14 or 15 years old, and the person  
          is at least 10 years older than the child, the person is guilty  
          of an alternate felony-misdemeanor, punishable by a jail term of  
          up to one year, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, or by a prison  
          term of 16 months, two years or three years and a fine of up  
          $10,000.  (Pen. Code § 288, subd. (c)(1).) 

          Commercial Sex Crimes Involving Minors
          
          Existing law includes numerous crimes concerning sexual  
          exploitation of minors for commercial purposes.  These crimes  
          include:

                 Pimping: Deriving income from the earnings of a  
               prostitute, deriving income from a place of prostitution,  
               or receiving compensation for soliciting a prostitute.   
               Where the victim is a minor under the age of 16, the crime  
               is a punishable by a prison term of three, six or eight  
               years. (Pen. Code § 266h, subds. (a)-(b).)
                 Pandering: Procuring another for prostitution, inducing  
               another to become a prostitute, procuring another person to  
               be placed in a house of prostitution, persuading a person  
               to remain in a house of prostitution, procuring another for  
               prostitution by fraud, duress or abuse of authority, and  
               commercial exchange for procurement.  (Pen. Code § 266i,  
               subd. (a).)
                 Procurement: Transporting or providing a child under 16  
               to another person for purposes of any lewd or lascivious  
               act.  The crime is punishable by a prison term of three,  
               six, or eight years, and by a fine not to exceed $15,000.   
               (Pen. Code § 266j.)
                 Taking a minor from her or his parents or guardian for  








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               purposes of prostitution.  This is a felony punishable by a  
               prison term of 16 months, two years, or three years and a  
               fine of up to $2,000. (Pen. Code § 267.) 

          Existing law provides that where a person is convicted of  
          pimping or pandering involving a minor the court may order the  
          defendant to pay an additional fine of up to $5,000.  In setting  
          the fine, the court shall consider the seriousness and  
          circumstances of the offense, the illicit gain realized by the  
          defendant and the harm suffered by the victim.  The proceeds of  
          this fine shall be deposited in the Victim-Witness Assistance  
          Fund and made available to fund programs for prevention of child  
          sexual abuse and treatment of victims.  (Pen. Code § 266k, subd.  
          (a).)  

          Existing law provides that where a defendant is convicted of  
          taking a minor under the age 16 from his or her parents to  
          provide to others for prostitution (Pen. Code § 267) or  
          transporting or providing a child under the age of 16 for  
          purposes of any lewd or lascivious act (Pen. Code § 266j), the  
          court may impose an additional fine of up to $20,000.  (Pen.  
          Code § 266k, subd. (b).)

          Existing law provides that where a defendant is convicted of  
          taking a minor (under the age of 18) from his or her parents for  
          purposes of prostitution (Pen. Code § 267), or transporting or  
          providing a child under the age of 16 for purposes of any lewd  
          or lascivious act (266j), the court, if it decides to impose a  
          specified additional fine, the fine must be no less than $5,000,  
          but no more than $20,000.  (Pen. Code § 266k, subd. (b).)

          Existing law provides that any person who deprives or violates  
          the personal liberty of another with the intent to obtain forced  
          labor or services, is guilty of human trafficking and shall be  
          punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 5, 8, or 12  
          years and a fine of not more than five hundred thousand dollars  
          ($500,000). (Penal Code Section 236.1, subd. (a).)


          Existing law states that any person who causes, induces, or  
          persuades, or attempts to cause, induce, or persuade, a person  
          who is a minor at the time of commission of the offense to  
          engage in a commercial sex act, with the intent to affect or  
          maintain a violation of specified sex crimes is guilty of human  








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          trafficking. A violation of this subdivision is punishable by  
          imprisonment in the state prison for 5, 8, or 12 years and a  
          fine of not more than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000)  
          or fifteen years to life and a fine of not more than five  
          hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) when the offense involves  
          force, fear, fraud, deceit, coercion, violence, duress, menace,  
          or threat of unlawful injury to the victim or to another person.  
          (Penal Code Section 236.1, subd. (c).)

          Existing law provides that in determining whether a minor was  
          caused, induced, or persuaded to engage in a commercial sex act,  
          the totality of the circumstances, including the age of the  
          victim, his or her relationship to the trafficker or agents of  
          the trafficker, and any handicap or disability of the victim,  
          shall be considered. (Penal Code § 236.1, subd. (d).)

          Existing law provides that if the person solicited in a  
          prostitution offense was a minor, and the defendant knew or  
          should have known that the person who was solicited was a minor,  
          the violation is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for  
          not less than two days and not more than one year, or by a fine  
          not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that  
          fine and imprisonment.

                 The court may, in unusual cases, when the interests of  
               justice are best served, reduce or eliminate the mandatory  
               two days of imprisonment in a county jail required by this  
               subdivision
                 If the court reduces or eliminates the mandatory two  
               days' imprisonment, the court shall specify the reason on  
               the record.  (Pen. Code § 647, subds. (b) and (m)(1)-(2).)

          Existing law includes the Commercially Sexually Exploited  
          Children Program, (CSECP) as administered by DSS, to serve  
          children who have been sexually exploited.  Specifically, CSECP  
          does the following:

                 Requires DSS, in consultation with the County Welfare  
               Directors Association of California, to develop an  
               allocation methodology to distribute funding for the  
               program. 
                 Authorizes the use of these funds by counties electing  
               to participate in the program for prevention and  
               intervention activities and services to children who are  








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               victims, or at risk of becoming victims, of commercial  
               sexual exploitation. 
                 Requires DSS to contract for training for county  
               children's services workers to identify, intervene, and  
               provide case management services to children who are  
               victims of commercial sexual exploitation, and for the  
               training of foster caregivers for the prevention and  
               identification of potential victims. 
                 Requires DSS, no later than April 1, 2017, to provide to  
               the Legislature, information regarding the implementation  
               of the program. 
                 Require each county, electing to receive funds, to  
               develop an interagency protocol to be utilized in serving  
               sexually exploited children who have been adjudged to be a  
               dependent child of the juvenile court. 
                 Requires the county interagency protocol to be developed  
               by a team led by a representative of the county human  
               services department and to include representatives from  
               specified county agencies and the juvenile court.  This  
               bill makes these provisions operative on January 1, 2015. 
                 Specifies that nothing precludes a county from providing  
               a supplemental rate to serve commercially exploited foster  
               children.
                 Provides that, to the extent federal financial  
               participation is available, federal funds should be  
               utilized.  (Welf. & Inst. Code §§ 16524.6-16524.11.)

          This bill provides that a minor who engages in conduct that  
          would constitute a prostitution offense shall not be arrested  
          for a criminal offense.

          This bill provides that a peace officer who encounters a minor  
          engaged in a commercial sex act shall report these circumstances  
          as abuse or neglect of a minor to the county child welfare  
          agency in accordance with the Commercially Sexually Exploited  
          Children Program, as defined in Welfare and Institutions Code  
          Sections 16524.6-16524.11.)

          This bill provides that a commercially sexually exploited child  
          may be adjudged a dependent child of the juvenile court.  

          This bill provides that a commercially sexually exploited child  
          may be taken into temporary custody "if the minor has an  
          immediate need for medical care, or ? is in immediate danger of  








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          physical or sexual abuse, or the physical environment" or the  
          child's unattended status "poses an immediate threat to the  
          child's health or safety."


          

                    RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION

          For the past several years this Committee has scrutinized  
          legislation referred to its jurisdiction for any potential  
          impact on prison overcrowding.  Mindful of the United States  
          Supreme Court ruling and federal court orders relating to the  
          state's ability to provide a constitutional level of health care  
          to its inmate population and the related issue of prison  
          overcrowding, this Committee has applied its "ROCA" policy as a  
          content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that  
          the Legislature does not erode progress in reducing prison  
          overcrowding.   

          On February 10, 2014, the federal court ordered California to  
          reduce its in-state adult institution population to 137.5% of  
          design capacity by February 28, 2016, as follows:   

                 143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;
                 141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and,
                 137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016. 

          In December of 2015 the administration reported that as "of  
          December 9, 2015, 112,510 inmates were housed in the State's 34  
          adult institutions, which amounts to 136.0% of design bed  
          capacity, and 5,264 inmates were housed in out-of-state  
          facilities.  The current population is 1,212 inmates below the  
          final court-ordered population benchmark of 137.5% of design bed  
          capacity, and has been under that benchmark since February  
          2015."  (Defendants' December 2015 Status Report in Response to  
          February 10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge  
          Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).)  One  
          year ago, 115,826 inmates were housed in the State's 34 adult  
          institutions, which amounted to 140.0% of design bed capacity,  
          and 8,864 inmates were housed in out-of-state facilities.   
          (Defendants' December 2014 Status Report in Response to February  
          10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge Court, Coleman  
          v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).)  








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          While significant gains have been made in reducing the prison  
          population, the state must stabilize these advances and  
          demonstrate to the federal court that California has in place  
          the "durable solution" to prison overcrowding "consistently  
          demanded" by the court.  (Opinion Re: Order Granting in Part and  
          Denying in Part Defendants' Request For Extension of December  
          31, 2013 Deadline, NO. 2:90-cv-0520 LKK DAD (PC), 3-Judge Court,  
          Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (2-10-14).  The Committee's  
          consideration of bills that may impact the prison population  
          therefore will be informed by the following questions:

              Whether a proposal erodes a measure which has contributed  
               to reducing the prison population;
              Whether a proposal addresses a major area of public safety  
               or criminal activity for which there is no other  
               reasonable, appropriate remedy;
              Whether a proposal addresses a crime which is directly  
               dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there  
               is no other reasonably appropriate sanction; 
              Whether a proposal corrects a constitutional problem or  
               legislative drafting error; and
              Whether a proposal proposes penalties which are  
               proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other  
               reasonably appropriate remedy.



          



          COMMENTS

          1.Need for This Bill

            The author states:

               In the state of California a person under the age of  
               18 years old is a minor and cannot legally consent to  
               sexual intercourse. Any person who engages in sex with  
               a minor victim, knowingly or not, has committed the  
               crime of unlawful sexual intercourse." 









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               California currently allows for criminalization of  
               Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC)  
               victims by charging them with crimes committed while  
               being victimized. Under current law a victim can be  
               detained in juvenile hall and prosecuted for  
               prostitution. This is not an effective or ethical  
               response to this growing epidemic. 

               SB 1322 will stop the criminalization of CSEC victims  
               by decriminalizing prostitution charges for minors. If  
               it is determined that the person suspected of  
               soliciting prostitution is under the age of 18, law  
               enforcement shall immediately report any allegation of  
               commercial sexual exploitation to the county child  
               welfare department.

          2.Sex Crimes Against Minors Related to Prostitution

          This bill concerns "CSEC" - sexually exploited children.  Sexual  
          conduct with a minor constitutes a felony in most instances,  
          regardless of whether anything of value was offered or exchanged  
          for the sexual acts.  Arguably, the exchange of money could be  
          an aggravating factor in the underlying sex crime, as it could  
          be seen as an improper attempt to normalize the behavior or  
          coerce the victim.  If the minor involved in a commercial sex of  
          was under the age of 14, the defendant has committed the felony  
          of lewd conduct, with a prison term of three, six or eight  
          years.  (Pen. Code § 288, subd. (a).)  The crime is punishable  
          by a term of 5, 8 or 10 years if the defendant used force,  
          threats, duress or coercion.  Solicitation of an act of  
          prostitution from a minor under the age of 14 could likely be  
          prosecuted as attempted lewd conduct - the intention to commit  
          the crime and a direct step towards it commission.  The prison  
          or jail term of an attempt is generally one-half the punishment  
          for the completed crime.  Where the defendant solicited or  
          employed a minor who was14 or 15 years old, and the defendant  
          was at least 10 years older than the minor, the defendant has  
          committed an alternate felony-misdemeanor.

          Any defined sex act - sodomy, sexual penetration, oral  
          copulation or sexual intercourse - with a minor is a crime.  The  
          penalties depend on the relative ages of the defendant and the  
          minor and whether the crime involved some form of force,  
          coercion or improper advantage.  A defendant charged with a  








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          prostitution-related offense involving a minor could also be  
          charged and convicted of a sex crime in the same case.   
          Generally, because the defined sex crime and the sexual commerce  
          offense would involve a single transaction or act, the defendant  
          could only be punished for one offense - the offense carrying  
          the greatest penalty.  (Pen. Code § 654.)  

          

          3.Sex Trafficking of Minors - Estimated Prevalence and Available  
            Data

          General Trafficking Prevalence Estimates and Data; 2007  
          California Data

          There appears to be general agreement that sex trafficking of  
          children is increasing and profitable.  However, the 2007 Final  
          Report of the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and  
          Slavery Task Force noted that California lacked comprehensive  
          statistics on human trafficking.  Thus, many statistics on human  
          trafficking in general, and sex trafficking of children in  
          particular, are estimates.  The 2007 report did cite statistics  
          from various sources, including a study finding that 80% of  
          documented cases in California occurred in urban areas and the  
          majority of victims were non-citizens.  A U.S. State Department  
          report of global trafficking estimated that minors constituted  
          50% of trafficking victims.  (2007Alliance to Combat  
          Trafficking, Final Report, pp. 33-39. )  The State Department  
          also noted that 14,500 to 17,500 persons are trafficked into the  
          United States from other countries. 

          The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducts 24 Innocence  
          Lost child sexual exploitation task forces and working groups  
          across the country.  Through 2007, 365 cases were opened and 281  
          child victims were located.  The Shared Hope International  
          non-profit organization has reported that approximately 100,000  
          domestic minors are sexually trafficked each year.   Numerous  
          examples of trafficking cases were summarized in the California  
          Alliance Report.  In 2001, a Berkeley man was prosecuted for  
          smuggling 15 girls from India for labor and sexual exploitation.  
           In 2000, a man was prosecuted for bringing women and girls from  
          Mexico and forcing them to work as prostitutes in Long Beach.   
          (2007 Alliance to Combat Trafficking, Final Report, p. 18.)









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          2012 Report of the California Attorney General on Human  
          Trafficking
   
          The California Attorney General's "Human Trafficking in  
          California 2012"  report stated that human trafficking  
          investigations and prosecutions have become more comprehensive  
          and organized.  There are nine human trafficking task forces in  
          California, composed of local, state and federal law enforcement  
          and prosecutors.

          Data on human trafficking has improved, although the data still  
          does not reflect the actual extent and range of human  
          trafficking.   Data from 2010 through 2012 collected by the  
          California task forces are set out in the following chart:

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          |Investigations                  |2,552                           |
          |--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
          |Victims Identified              |1,277                           |
          |--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
          |Arrests Made                    |1,798                           |
          |                                |                                |
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          Trafficking by Category

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          |Sex Trafficking                 |56%                             |
          |--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
          |Labor Trafficking               |23%                             |
          |--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
          |Unclassified or Insufficient    |21%                             |
          |Information                     |                                |
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          4.John Jay College of Criminal Justice Study Found That Most  
            Commercially Exploited Children in New York City Were  
            Introduced to Commercial Sex by Peers

          Recent years have seen a great increase in awareness of and  
          concerns about minors - most often girls - engaged in commercial  
          sex activities.  Organized, coerced trafficking has received the  
          most attention.  Sex trafficking has been described as sexual  








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          slavery.  Trafficked minors are isolated, controlled by and made  
          dependent on their exploiters, and can even be perversely loyal  
          because of the manufactured dependency. 

          However, a detailed 2008 study by the Center for Court  
          Innovation and John Jay College of Criminal Justice found that  
          most of the minors engaging in commercial sex in New York City  
          are homeless, runaway minors who engage in "survival sex" to  
          obtain small amounts of money for food and other necessities.  A  
          significant number of these CSEC - commercially sexually  
          exploited children - are gay, lesbian and transgender youth who  
          left unsupportive families and communities.  The study authors  
          were surprised to find that most CSEC were recruited or  
          initiated into survival sex by their peers, with no involvement  
          by adult pimps.  The John Jay study also reported that many CSEC  
          were simply approached on the street by would-be customers,  
          without any solicitation by the CSEC.   Also surprising, there  
          were as many male CSEC as female CSEC in New York City. 

          Rachel Aviv's December 2012 profile of homeless young people in  
          the New Yorker magazine noted the results of the John Jay study  
          and then carefully documented the daily lives of a number of  
          homeless young people on the New York City streets.  They often  
          formed informal communities or street families for support.   
          They sometimes shared repeat customers and money earned from  
          commercial sex, technically acting as pimps for each other.   
          Adults who purchase sex from CSEC are certainly aware that they  
          are taking advantage of these children.  Some men use violence  
          against the homeless young people. 

          Aviv's profile documented that living on the streets and  
          engaging in survival sex is extremely perilous.  The rate of HIV  
          among homeless youth is triple that of the general population.   
          Hunger and illness are common and many show symptoms of  
          psychiatric disorders. Many face the frightening prospect of  
          becoming chronically or permanently homeless.  Aviv wrote:   
          "Samantha and Ryan were both terrified of becoming 'lifers.'   
          They saw the signs in their friends, who stopped trying to get  
          job interviews, missed appointments with caseworkers, and cycled  
          in and out of psychiatric hospitals or rehab centers, becoming  
          accustomed to people telling them what to do and when."

          5. Programs for Minors Engaged in Prostitution









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          The New Yorker profile noted above described a patchwork of  
          services that are not coordinated or comprehensive.  As the CSEC  
          understood, they are constantly in danger of becoming lifers on  
          the street, with the attendant harms of that life.  The John Jay  
          study may not reflect the populations of CSEC in cities and  
          areas other than New York.  However, the study does indicate  
          that approaches that rely mostly on enforcement of criminal laws  
          against human trafficking and pimping will not likely solve many  
          of the problems of young people who are exploited for commercial  
          sex.  

          There has been a growing awareness of the value of special  
          social welfare and juvenile court programs for girls found to be  
          involved in commercial sex.  It has been argued that treating  
          juvenile's engaged in prostitution as criminal offenders does  
          little or nothing to address the underlying circumstances -  
          homelessness, physical and sexual abuse, and drug and alcohol  
          dependency  - that bring minors to engage in commercial sex.   
          Special collaborative courts can organize and monitor  
          supervision and treatment of CSEC girls.  Special STAR  
          (Succeeding through Achievement and Resilience) courts have been  
          implemented in Los Angeles as a pilot project that is reportedly  
          being expanded.   Alameda County has an established a Girls  
          Court.  New York has created a network of 11 Human Trafficking  
          Intervention Courts for juveniles who are at least 16 years old.  
            

          This bill would create a model for more direct services provided  
          to CSEC through the juvenile dependency and treatment process,  
          rather than relying on the juvenile delinquency court system to  
          intervene.  SB 1110 (Hancock) would create three projects of Law  
          Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) in which police take low  
          level drug and prostitution offenders directly to a case manager  
          for services and treatment.  LEAD completely bypasses the  
          criminal court system. Charges are not deferred or placed aside  
          while the LEAD participant or client engages in the program.  In  
          Seattle, LEAD has been remarkably successful on multiple fronts.  
           Recidivism over three years' time was nearly 60% lower for leas  
          participants than for similar persons in the criminal justice  
          system.  The lives of LEAD participants are more stable and  
          productive and LEAD areas safer.  Providing services to sexually  
          exploited minors more quickly and directly than under current  
          practice may be effective.









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          6.   Related Legislation Pending in the Assembly 

          There are two related bills pending in the Assembly - AB 1675  
          (Stone) and AB 1760 (Santiago).  Hearing of AB 1760 in Assembly  
          Public Health was postponed at the request of the author.  AB  
          1675 was approved in Assembly Public Safety and has been  
          referred to Assembly Appropriations.

          The Assembly Public Safety Committee analysis of AB 1675  
          summarizes the bill as follows:

               Requires a probation officer, in a case in which a  
               minor is alleged to have committed the crime of  
               solicitation, prostitution, or loitering with the  
               intent to commit prostitution, to provide informal  
               supervision for the minor, instead of requesting that  
               the prosecutor file a petition declaring the minor to  
               be a ward of the juvenile court.

               Requires the probation officer to delineate a specific  
               program of supervision for the minor.

          The Assembly Public Safety Committee analysis of AB 1760  
          summarizes the bill as follows:

                Directs a peace officer who determines that a minor  
               is a victim of human trafficking to report such abuse,  
               consult with a child welfare worker about a safe  
               placement for the minor, and transport the minor to  
               such placement, unless the minor is otherwise  
               arrested.  Specifies that the officer should provide  
               information that the minor has committed crimes as a  
               direct result of being a human trafficking victim to  
               the district attorney's office for independent  
               evaluation.  


                                      -- END -


          










          SB 1322  (Mitchell )                                       Page  
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