Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Announces Partnership with Demand Abolition 

Posted by on November 20, 2017 in CEASE Network, Events, News, Success Stories

Alex Trouteaud, Director of Policy and Research at Demand Abolition, spoke about holding buyers accountable at the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department press conference alongside Portland CEASE coordinator and EPIK Project founder Tom Perez (third from left)Captain Chris Marks (fifth from left), and LA County Sheriff Jim McDonnell (far right). 

A year after launching the Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force, Sheriff Jim McDonnell announced a new partnership with Demand Abolition’s CEASE Network (Cities Empowered Against Sexual Exploitation). During the November 9 press conference, speakers emphasized the importance of preventing victimization by addressing the demand side of illegal commercial sex.  

A major benefit of joining the 12-city CEASE Network is access to technologies that can disrupt buying and selling of individuals for sex online.  

“The Demand Abolition strategies take us and our local law enforcement partners into the 21st century where trafficking, exploitation, and commercial sex has grown at a remarkable pace,” said CEASE Network coordinator Captain Chris Marks of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Human Trafficking Bureau.   

The Bureau is committed to fighting human trafficking with the following goals: 

  1. Identify and rescue victims and connect them with services and opportunities 
  2. Identify, arrest, and prosecute exploiters who victimize the most vulnerable members of the community 
  3. Impact the demand side of the commercial sex industry by targeting buyers of minors and exploited women 

Read press coverage of the event:
Sheriff, Demand Abolition Partner to Fight Demand for Sex Trafficking

Cybertechnology to Help Stop Human Trafficking