A Dallas Police Sergeant, Louis Felini, also witnessed firsthand the haplessness of relying wholly upon the conventional formula of arrests and jail time. Consequently, he began organizing the Prostitute Diversion Initiative (PDI) in 2007, one of the most unique and comprehensive programs in the nation. What really sets PDI apart from other programs is the broad cooperation that it has among various organizations including drug rehabs, law enforcement, judges, and over 45 different social services. PDI consists of a group that travels in buses filled with various social workers and volunteers. There are also former prostitutes who try to counsel these women with an exit strategy in mind. PDI’s “New Life” program is a 45 day program with substance …show more content…
Another Dallas Police Sgt., Byron A. Fassett, was frustrated with how teen prostitutes were rarely willing to help convict their pimps. He discovered while researching old case files that the vast majority of teen prostitutes had run away from home over four times a year. In response, he presumed that a new approach (again involving the carrot, not the stick) would be the more appropriate measure. Thus, he initiated the “High Risk Victim” unit to identify those teens most at risk. Obviously, any police operated initiative will usually involve arrests, but Fassett’s program specifically made it a point to not brand these youths with the Scarlet letter, i.e. a prostitution arrest. Instead, they charge these youths with much lesser crimes, such as truancy. Afterward, these teens are offered shelter at a specific sequestered site where they receive various social services. To sum up, it’s been an overwhelming success as roughly 75% of these teen runaways involved in this program quit prostitution and several of them have been willing to testify against their pimps in …show more content…
For instance, Houston’s diversion program has some past participants who attest that it helped turn their life around, but there are detractors as well. This program is led by a former drug-addicted prostitute with a confrontational type of approach. The women who enter these programs have various needs such as drug rehab, mental health issues, job training, etc. Therefore, it’s a waste of taxpayer funds to implement a one-size-fits-all approach with “scared straight” types of lectures. For example, it isn’t the appropriate methodology for someone who simply needs help finding a job. And that was the case with one woman who uploaded audio from a lecture in which the participants were forced to “confess” that they were no different from rapists and Charles Manson because prostitution is also a crime. Upon listening to more of these recordings it’s no surprise that the same woman felt the need, for the first time in her life, to seek out a therapist due to the treatment that she received in the
Travis T Alston Jr. Professor Mr. Joshua N. James English 111 8 June 2015 Bridgette Carr Comments on Trafficking Victims Protection Act: A Rhetorical Analysis Bridgette Carr composed the Article “Trafficking Victims Protection Act needs to be more supportive of child victims”. As a clinical assistant professor and director of human trafficking clinic at the University of Michigan Law School she has done much research on this topic. Her article deals with how the government officials, such as U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security, and other government agencies that are responsible for the trafficking of child victims. Professor Carr argues that there should be better ways to avoid the way that child trafficking victims are treated when caught in a sting operation. She does this by explaining
There are indication that most criminals have a juvenile records in the US, indicating that crime manifests from a tender age. Therefore, to reverse the incidence of crime, it follows that the best strategy is to reduce the criminal orientation in the juvenile offenders as opposed to hardening them and preparing them for criminal careers. The case of the Crossroads Juvenile Center demonstrates the willingness of the juvenile justice systems to make these changes on the children. References Day, S. (2014). Runaway Man: A Journey Back to Hope.
To understand how a police department combats against human trafficking, I interviewed Felicia Grantham. Ms. Grantham is the Human Trafficking Coordinator for Tarrant County 5- Stones Taskforce, a division of the Fort Worth Police Department. She informed me that the TC 5-Stones Taskforce was officially sanctioned by Chief Fitzgerald as an arm of the Fort Worth Police Department on January 1st, 2016, but the vision for it began long before that. Ms. Grantham had her first meeting with then-Chief Halstead in July of 2014 asking if they could start a community discussion on the topic of human trafficking.
. Who Is the Direct Target of This Policy, Meaning Who Will It Most Affect? Do Members of the Direct Target Population Come from Any Specific Demographic Groups? This policy is aimed at the poor that receive welfare benefits.
In an interview with the Modesto Bee, Debbie explains first learning about sex trafficking at a luncheon in 2007. A woman,
Furthermore, exploited individuals may be subjected to a wide range of trauma- specific counseling that is aimed at helping victims rebuild their self-esteem, regain empowerment and reconnection with themselves and society. Health care professionals also states that victims must be offered very sensitive outreach with allows them to gain helpful access to mental health services, safe houses and other helpful tools that will assist them in developing their reforming skills to get back in touch with themselves again (Ross, Dimitrova, Howard, Dewey, Zimmerman & Oram, 2015). Most survivors do regain their psychological well-being and heal physically with the assistance and access to much needed resources or assistance from for victims. Additionally, the various needs of victims of human trafficking can create and provide extensive challenges for health care providers trying to assist and help victims with collaborative services.
Classical theory has influenced criminal justice practices in this case by shaping laws and policies around prostitution and sex work. Many of Ridgway's victims were involved in the sex trade, and the stigma and criminalization of sex work made it easier for him to target them without attracting attention from law enforcement. In response, some jurisdictions have shifted towards decriminalizing sex work and implementing harm reduction measures to protect the safety of those
These men had no remorse or control because they knew it was okay to do whatever they wanted to Brenda since she was being paid. Most of the time she would have a knife to her throat, a man strangling her or holding a pillow to her face trying to try and suffocate her. Brenda witnessed many young girls like herself and other women killed but she had no one to run too neither could she report these crimes to the police because the police never cared about what happened to prostitutes. To numb her pain, she turned to cocaine as an escape, enduring her abuse just like she had as a child because she felt trapped.
Teens Tried as Adults Teens are the future of our society. They are the ones who will soon run the world we live in today. People make mistakes and no one is perfect. From these mistakes people learn, however some do not. Most of the time when a teen makes a bad choice something gets broken, they screw up in class or hurt someone's feelings.
“Houston has the highest number of trafficking victims in the nation,” says Texas Assistant Attorney General, Krista Melton. Houston is a Main hub when it comes to Human trafficking being that it is a big city with both I-10 and the ports makes it a popular destination to allow entry of international human trafficking. Houston’s government developed team CAT is working on a strategic plan to get the word out on how we can end human trafficking in Houston. In their plan to stop human trafficking they developed multiple objectives to help smooth over the process and spread the word to make Houston an exemplary city to help lead the fight in human trafficking. In their first objective, they describe how they will help by implement training with multiple districts of the city from the courts and jail all the way to the health departments and airports.
In the decades following this case, many changes to legislation have been made with the welfare of sex workers being seen as more important and more emphasis is put on ensuring they are safe (Wattis, 2015). LESSONS
Many of us don’t think twice about the social economic level we are born into and let’s be honest, most of us take it for granted. Social economic level has a clear impact on adolescent girls and may ultimately determine their futures. In the book, “Girls in Trouble with the Law” written by Laurie Schaffner (2006), a qualitative study was conducted and took us inside multiple juvenile detention centers to explore the world of girls who are incarcerated. Schaffner makes her case by describing how girls with low social economic levels are at a disadvantage and are more likely to commit crime. She takes a closer look at how poverty, family, and education play a role in these young girls’ lives.
Within the urban communities, negative perceptions are magnified. Adolescents are more prone to be a product of their environment, especially those whose parents are incarcerated. Because of this trend adolescents are being incarcerated at an alarming rate and sentenced to adult facilities. Lambie & Randall (2013) states, the United States have imposed harsher penalties on serious young offenders, and have consequently increased rates of incarcerated youth and made it easier for youth to be treated and incarcerated as adults within the justice
In addition to legislation on human trafficking, criminal justice systems must turn their attention to educating law enforcement officers about the nature and extent of trafficking, while also equipping them with the tools essential to handling these cases. Adequate training is necessary for law enforcement to understand the intricacies of trafficking cases and how to investigate them properly. Farrell, Owens, and McDevitt (2014) stress the need for such specialized training in order for law enforcement officers to embrace new legislation on trafficking, and to understand how to respond to these sensitive cases. Other criminal justice professionals, such as prosecutors, judges, and court personnel, can also benefit from specialized human trafficking
Over the years there have been many controversial ethical issues which are still debated in the 21st century. In today’s modern society one such controversial issue is prostitution. Prostitution can be defined as “The act or practice of engaging in sexual intercourse for money” (Deigh, 2010, p.29). Prostitution is the oldest profession of all. However the ethics of prostitution is still unclear between many societies.