Human Trafficking Unit

What is human trafficking?

Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery. It consists of coercing and forcing vulnerable people into sex work or labor industries. Behind drug trafficking, it is the second most lucrative criminal enterprise. Traffickers will often prey upon transient or displaced people. Furthermore, victims do not have to be transported over state or national lines for human trafficking to occur. This makes human trafficking extremely hard to detect and prosecute as many people may not even be aware that they are being trafficked before it is too late.

Human Trafficking Notices

In an effort to curb human trafficking, California has enacted Senate Bill 1193, mandating that certain businesses post notices in English and Spanish about human trafficking. In 2017, additional measures were passed, expanding the number and types of businesses required to post notices. For more information, please head to the California Legislative Information website.

Our Office

Contra Costa County is uniquely positioned as an ideal corridor for human trafficking in California, one of the national hotspots for trafficking activities. We jointly operate a human trafficking task force with the Employment and Human Services Department (EHSD), Community Violence Solutions, and other partners. This innovative task force helps to ensure collaboration at the local, state, and national levels between governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Our goals are to 1) better identify all types of human trafficking victims; 2) enhance investigation and prosecution of all types of human trafficking; 3) address the individualized needs of all identified human trafficking victims by linking them to comprehensive services; 4) enhance awareness of human trafficking among law enforcement and service providers, as well as within the broader Contra Costa community; and 5) improve trauma-informed practices for human trafficking victims within law enforcement and victim service providers.

If you or someone you know has information regarding any acts or suspicions of human trafficking, please call our dedicated local hotline: 925-957-8658. 

Human Trafficking Federal Grant

In 2018, our County received a federal grant  (VT-BX-K090 FY 18 BJA Enhanced Collaborative Model to Combat Human Trafficking Award). Under this award, Contra Costa County is creating a state, federal and local law enforcement task force to investigate and prosecute both sex and labor trafficking cases in collaboration with local victim-service partners to hold offenders accountable while providing survivors with culturally competent and victim-centered resources and support. Our law enforcement partners will include Contra Costa County police agencies, state enforcement agencies, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Attorney’s Office.

Our grant victim service partners are:

• The Alliance to End Abuse (The Alliance) is an initiative of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors that fosters the development and implementation of collaborative, coordinated and integrated services, supports, interventions and prevention activities to reduce Human Trafficking as well as other forms of interpersonal violence in Contra Costa County including Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Child Abuse and Elder Abuse. The Alliance coordinates the efforts of the victim-service providers under the federal grant

• Bay Area Legal Aid provides meaningful access to the civil justice system through quality legal assistance regardless of a client’s location, language or disability. Legal Advice Line: 800-551-5554

• Calli House Youth Shelter provides shelter, housing case management and referral/outreach services to youth victims of human trafficking ages 18-24 in Contra Costa.
  • 24-hour shelter hotline: 1-800-0610-9400
• Community Violence Solutions (CVS) provides crisis response, case management and comprehensive direct services to victims of labor and human trafficking.
  • 24-hour crisis hotline: 800-670-7273
• District Attorney’s Victim-Witness Assistance Center: provides specially-trained advocates to help reduce the trauma and insensitivity that trafficking victims can experience following a crime, guides victims through the legal system, facilitates application to the California Victim Compensation Board, and directs victims to agencies and organizations that offer assistance and emergency services.
  • 925-957-8650 Martinez
  • 510-374-3272 Richmond
• International Rescue Committee (IRC) provides case management and direct services to foreign-born victims of labor and sex trafficking.
  
  
• STAND! For Families Free of Violence provides crisis response, shelter, case management, and referral/outreach services to victims of human trafficking who are also experiencing intimate relationship violence / domestic violence.

  
  

Additional Resources

In addition to the local resources provided, our office understands the usefulness of national organizations. If you are looking for more information or help, please refer to the following.

• National Human Trafficking Resource Center: 24/7 call center at 1-888-373-7888. More information is available on their website.
  
  
• National Human Trafficking Resource Center: 
  • 24-hour Toll-Free national helpline: 1-888-373-7888; text 233733
• 211: 
  • 24-hour Toll-Free local helpline: dial 2-1-1
• Contra Costa Human Trafficking Coalition: A public-private partnership working to create a community free of exploitation.
  
  
• Contra Costa County Family Justice Centers: Serves Contra Costa families affected by human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and elder abuse with a large variety of co-located resources, services, and support.
  • 3 Centers:
    • 925-521-6366 Concord
    • 510-974-2200 Richmond
    • 925-281-0970 Antioch
• California Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking: 24/7 at 1-888-539-2373. More information is available on their website.