Crittenton and Fullerton PD Partner on Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts
September 29, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Crittenton Services for Children and Families
Martha Jasso, Director of Communications
(714) 680-6008
Fullerton, Calif — Crittenton Services for Children and Families (CSCF) proudly announces a successful collaboration with Fullerton Police Department to train 75 officers on the issue of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) this week.
Crittenton Services to help train Fullerton Police Department on how to identify and assist young victims of sex trafficking.
The training, spanning 6 briefings in 2 days, focuses on the warning signs of child sex trafficking, vulnerable populations in Southern California, the use of ‘code language’ being used by human traffickers, and the effects of trauma on a child’s developmental growth.
“While our history with trafficking goes back to the late 1800’s, it wasn’t until very recently that the general public realized that these were children, not ‘prostitutes’ or ‘bad girls.’ They need help to overcome the litany of abuses they’ve suffered since they were very young,” said Joyce Capelle, Chief Executive Officer, CSCF. “That recent awareness from the public has been monumental in shifting how we are able to serve girls who are victims of such horrendous sexual exploitation. And the Fullerton Police Department has been very proactive in working with us to make sure we are doing everything we can for the young victims we serve locally. This training is yet another opportunity for community collaboration that can result in more kids being rescued and more awareness being spread.”
Earlier this year, the Fullerton Police Department connected with Crittenton to discuss how their resources could best be used to deter human trafficking and to help victims within the city. Although sex trafficking was generally considered to be a problem isolated to other countries, more domestic victims are uncovered each year.
Recently, the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force identified 64 minor victims in 2013, and Crittenton’s program has served at least 200 victims hailing from all over Southern California. Typically Crittenton’s former clients tend to come out of the juvenile justice system, some of whom have been trafficking victims. In fact, getting the feedback of a young survivor is so crucial when it comes to training the law enforcement community that Crittenton made sure to have the agency’s young survivors involved in the training module by providing suggestions on how to interact with at-risk youth or those young victims currently in “the life.”
“We are proud to partner with Crittenton Services in order to serve those most vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking. The Fullerton Police Department, in partnership with Crittenton is committed to stopping domestic minor sex trafficking,” said Police Chief Dan Hughes.
Fullerton Police Department is committed in having similar educational efforts as an on-going process to further train its officers on anti-human trafficking initiatives within Orange County.
As the awareness within the community grows and trends are identified within the world of domestic minor sex trafficking Crittenton is grateful for the opportunity to share its child welfare expertise to ensure that children are spared a life of exploitation.
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Crittenton Services for Children and Families of Southern California (CSCF) is a non-profit social services agency whose mission is to heal the wounds of abuse and neglect; strengthen families; and help troubled adolescents reach their full potential. Established and incorporated in 1966 Crittenton has a highly trained workforce operating 24 hours a day / 7 days a week providing comprehensive counseling, medical, and other support services to the clients in our care. We provide a full array of residential, in-home, community based, wraparound, mental health, foster care, and adoption services with a service planning area throughout Southern California that covers Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego Counties.
Visit www.crittentonsocal.org to learn more about our programs and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+, and Flickr.
Topics: Non-Profit, Social Services, Community Based Services, Residential Treatment Services, Youth Shelter Services, Human Trafficking, Commercial Sexually Exploited Children, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Victim Services, Commercial Sexually Exploited Children Treatment Program, Modern Day Slavery
Geography: Orange County, Calif., Fullerton, Calif.