Why is Houston considered a ‘hot spot’ for sex trafficking, prostitution?

HOUSTON – Most Houstonians, and truthfully, other folks across the nation have heard of the Bissonet Track.

While the origins of the Bissonnet Track are shadowy and ill-defined, KPRC 2 has coated problems in that house for a minimum of the closing 25 years.

“Bissonnet is a common name, it is a street name for people who are in this space and are paying attention to things like this, they know of it. And the people who are engaging in this activity, they also know of it,” mentioned Luke Baty, the Chief of Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation on the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

KPRC 2 Investigates reporter Robert Arnold recalled his protection through the years, pronouncing that the focus of resorts, aspect streets, and simple get right of entry to to the freeway has most probably been a issue within the endurance and prominence of this district.

But, on Thursday, we discovered from KPRC 2 reporter Rilwan Balogun, that the Bissonnet Track is now not the one “hot spot” within the Houston house, and that the illicit business is shifting to different portions of the town.

“It’s one of the things that Houston and Harris County are known for around the country. I’ve been in presentations in other cities that reference the streets that we know well here in our city and that are well known around the country for sex trafficking,” Baty mentioned.

He added that the Houston house is now seeing an uptick in sex trafficking on Airline Drive and Berry Road, round Hobby and Bush Airports, and within the Gulfgate house.

“There’s a lot of places around this city that people can drive and just see sex being sold on the streets. We’ve known that once Bissonnet has been shut down, things will eventually move somewhere else,” Baty mentioned.

But why?

There are a number of components when bearing in mind this, Baty mentioned it has a lot to do with regulation enforcement businesses’ record-keeping, which means the town and county are identified to stay a higher list of arrests related to prostitution and sex trafficking than different towns. He additionally allocated to the truth that it’s highlighted in popular culture, particularly with native artists.

“Because we live in Houston and because this issue is in the forefront of our citizens’ minds more often than it should be, more than in smaller cities, there is some increase in reporting. I think that the city, the county, our law enforcement partners, and government agencies have done a good job of giving resources and the ability for people to make disclosures when they see issues in our city,” Baty mentioned.

Nzinga Rideaux with Hope Over Hurt, an outreach and missionary ministry that advocates for the ones being trafficked, mentioned northeast Houston has been a “hotspot” for prostitution in Houston for greater than two decades. She mentioned the positioning, which is 10 mins from downtown, performs a massive function in why it’s so standard.

“It’s an easy commute and it’s a place where a lot of hope is missing,” Rideaux mentioned. “Unfortunately, the neighborhood went down because after elders and family members’ past children took over, some did not pay the taxes on the property, so some of the property’s value went down.”

Also, some might say because of Houston being the fourth-largest town, its proximity to the border, and being a vacation spot for truck drivers and different vacationers; make it the best town for the trade.

“We need more to be done. We need more politicians and more to be done by the citizens,” Rideaux mentioned, “You know, the citizens, we have a role to play, as well as being aware if something is not going right in our neighborhoods.”

Authorities are running to fight the problem in Houston and Harris County. Baty mentioned pimps, johns and human traffickers are seeing harsher punishments, and the District Attorney’s Office is providing extra assets to ladies who in finding themselves caught within the trade.

“I think if we can stop trafficking in this city if we can curb it and make it something that our citizens, our jurisdiction will not consent to, it signals to other major cities around the country that this is possible, that we can do something about this problem,” Baty mentioned.

Help when you’re a sufferer

If you need to record human trafficking

• To record suspected human trafficking to federal regulation enforcement: 1-866-347-2423

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