Long Beach will attempt to combat the decades-long issue of prostitution and human trafficking along Long Beach Boulevard by combining state, local and regional laws, recent data from law enforcement and community input.
The corridor runs through North Long Beach, Lynwood and Compton, and is one of the largest hotspots for human trafficking in the country, second to the Figueroa corridor in Los Angeles, according to Councilmember Joni Ricks-Oddie, one of the authors of the item.
The north division of the Long Beach Police Department responds to 86% of calls of service pertaining to prostitution citywide, according to 2022 data. Councilmembers Ricks-Oddie and Tunua Thrash-Ntuk spearheaded the item, which garnered letters of support from assembly members, Long Beach City Council trustees, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, councilmembers from neighboring cities, nonprofits in the area, local business owners and dozens of residents.
“These conditions are just unacceptable, and we owe it to our children to do better,” Thrash-Ntuk said. “The neighborhoods around Long Beach Boulevard are filled with close knit families, many of whom have called these communities home for decades. These residents should not have to face the dangers and daily indignities of trafficking.”
City staff will focus on four strategies to create a plan to combat human trafficking along Long Beach Boulevard: using local enforcement, leveraging regional coordination, strengthening existing ordinances and advocating for relevant state policies. The Long Beach City Council will receive a report on possible next steps within 120 days.
Nearly 30 residents from North Long Beach neighborhoods, schools and businesses spoke in support of these renewed efforts, citing incidents of kids seeing sexual acts and violence while walking to and from school. They also spoke about the fear of retaliation that exists in the community, making it dangerous to call the police or try to document incidents of suspected human trafficking.
“Each day our students, many of whom walk to and from school, are exposed to distressing and unsafe conditions,” said Jandella Faulkner, principal of Starr King Elementary. “Children have reported seeing women half naked and engaging in acts that they don’t understand. Parents have reached out to us asking for help in explaining what their children are witnessing.”
Previous attempts to curb the issue of prostitution along Long Beach Boulevard include the passage of the Nuisance Motel Regulation and the Alcohol Nuisance Abatement ordinance, which closed down certain motels and regulated all liquor stores along the corridor. The City Council is requesting data on how effective these ordinances were, and will look at what other cities have done.
The city of Claremont has similar motel abatement ordinances but with more teeth, requiring a credit card be on file for guests paying for a room in cash, and requiring video surveillance be taken outside of motels and kept for 90 days. In Long Beach, video surveillance is only required “if deemed necessary,” by police according to Councilmember Thrash-Ntuk.
Security cameras outside of motels would create documentation without requiring residents to endanger themselves. Community members cited being followed, threatened with a gun, attacked and getting pepper sprayed for taking pictures of a pimp, as they attempted to get evidence to show the Long Beach Police Department.
Others spoke about the dangers of normalizing the act of prostitution to children, which in turn makes them more vulnerable to become a victim of human trafficking.
For Kathryn Renesto, this fear has resulted into her worst nightmare, as her daughter Ruthey Smith was victimized by human traffickers and has been missing for three years, leaving behind a daughter of her own.
“Missing people, the victims, they need help too. While we’re strongly saying, ‘prostitute, prostitute, prostitute,’ these prostitutes are somebody’s children and my daughter was coerced and manipulated into doing the wrong thing and she leaves behind her daughter that I now have to raise on my own,” Renesto said. “I ask for you guys to make the community safer on the north side because I live near there and I need to be able to raise her safely and not have the same thing happen again because they eat our children, they take them and there’s nothing you can do.”
Renesto added that she has done her own investigative work such as going to Figueroa Street and finding video footage of Smith, and said she has been beaten by pimps and sex workers for doing so. “But I’m still not going to stop because I will never give up on bringing Ruthey Smith home,” she said.
“It’s time to make this a top public safety, citywide priority. Not just […] in North Long Beach,” added Mayor Rex Richardson.
The item has four main focuses: local enforcement and interdepartmental cohesion; strategic partnerships; nuisance motel updates; and legislative and policy framework advocacy.
Local enforcement and coordination:
- Utilize data-driven strategies; includes resident input and police data.
- Deploy community presence and safety resources, particularly around schools.
- Enhance legal and enforcement tools, such as the red light abatement program and public nuisance injunctions.
- Expand scope and training.
Strategic Partnerships and Regional Coordination:
- Partner for community and survivor support.
- Pursue regional coordination between cities like Lynwood and Compton, and with the Los Angeles County.
- Seek partnerships for diversion and pathways.
- Conduct outreach and resource distribution.
Motel Nuisance and Abatement Ordinance Enhancement:
- Update ordinance data, from Long Beach and other cities with similar ordinances.
- Implement enhanced operational requirements.
- Establish robust oversight and compliance.
- Explore land use strategies through rezoning to transform the motels into “more compatible” uses that the community wants and needs.
Legislative and Policy Framework that may be relevant include:
- AB 379 – increased punishment for soliciting a minor, distributing these fines into survivor support funds.
- AB 1231 – Authorizes courts to exercise discretion to grant pretrial diversion on a felony offense.
- AB 562 – Requires counties to increase the rate of foster care family placements if they fall under the statewide average rate.
“We want a boulevard that’s filled with local businesses, meeting residents’ daily needs such as cafes, bookstores, family friendly restaurants, and we cannot attract these kinds of businesses without addressing this matter,” Councilmember Thrash-Ntuk said. “To bring this vision to life we must address human trafficking from every possible angle.”
