Does Houston have a sex trafficking problem? Exploring what is being done to combat prostitution in the Houston area

HOUSTON – Human and sex trafficking in Houston is a downside, and the Bissonnet observe is well known round the nation. Law enforcement and prosecutors are converting techniques to do what they may be able to to combat the unlawful industry.

Because of the new techniques, KPRC 2 Investigates checked out the numbers to see the place the illicit industry is transferring.

To see the sex industry firsthand, KPRC hit the streets with Hope Over Hurt. It’s the 2d time this 12 months we did this. This time they went to Tidwell and I-69.

RELATED: Man accused of forcing youngster to run away, trafficking her in Dallas, San Antonio and Texas City for greater than 2 weeks

“I call it a quick pivot. The streets know how to pivot and, you know, the word gets out really quick,” says founder Wendi Turner.

The pivot comes months after Houston Police cracked down on the Bissonnet prostitution observe.

KPRC 2 Investigates was once the first to document on the literal roadblocks HPD arrange to forestall the industry.

Commander Salam Zia heads the HPD Vice Unit. He tells us, “It’s a never-ending pursuit for us. That’s an area that I think we excel in.”

While there are successes with cleansing up Bissonnet, he confirms our suspicions the sex industry is transferring to different portions of Houston.

KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun confirmed him a map with the newest statistics.

“I just want to make sure the things we’re looking at look correct to you. These are arrests from September of last year to this September.”

The Commander responds, “So you got northeast, you got southeast, this is the Bissonnet area. That doesn’t mean it’s not occurring in other areas.”

On the map, the best collection of arrests got here from the Bissonnet area with 282 arrests. Some of the ones numbers maintain the HPD crackdown.

Then we transfer to Northeast Houston with 183 arrests, and to Southeast Houston with 141.

Cmdr. Zia says, “We have shifted our focus and tried to attack the problem wherever it is. We are working with patrol commanders in various parts of the city. And, trying to take some of the successes we had in Bissonnet and applying them in those areas.”

Once the arrests are made, the case strikes to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office the place the Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Chief Luke Baty and his workforce start prosecuting.

“I can charge somebody with trafficking, but I can also charge somebody with sexual assault of a child or possession of child pornography. And, I can charge all of those things under one umbrella. And so the charging decisions are a complex decision-making process,” says Baty.

Prosecutors are aggressively going after the pimps and johns, or no matter you need to name them. They are doing all this whilst attempting to get the sex staff out of the industry.

“There’s nobody who’s in that life consensually,” the prosecutor provides.

Looking at the identical September to September time frame, Harris County prosecutors noticed 1,370 instances of human trafficking and prostitution. Most of that was once treated through HPD.

Of the ones instances, 94 had prior prostitution fees, and there have been handiest 72 convictions.

The reasoning at the back of that is a alternate in belief, legislation enforcement, and prosecutors are actually viewing sex staff as sufferers.

Baty stated, “Nobody’s consenting to being on the street because they just wanted to do that for their whole life. Some circumstances have led them to that position.”

That’s the place Hope Over Hurt comes in, they suggest for the ones being trafficked and are there when the sufferers are able to get out.

“So, from the heart, it hurts because we see dreams that diverted some that probably had visions,” says member Nzinga Rideaux. “They wanted to do more and be more but fell prey to it. And, some have given up. And this is where they are right now.”

There is a false impression available in the market that as a result of the numbers surrounding prostitution are prime, Houston has a serious problem. The truth is that running with nonprofits, legislation enforcement, and prosecutors leads to a higher reporting device. One different a part of the nation is now running to type.