STRAPWA National Conference Combating Sex Trafficking through a Multi-Disciplina

This workshop will review Los Angeles’ nationally recognized Law Enforcement First Responder Protocol for CSEC (FRP) that has been in place for nearly four years. The FRP spells out a collaborative, multi-disciplinary, 90-minute response when a commercially sexually exploited child is identified by law enforcement. The FRP has allowed Los Angeles County to drastically diminish the number of children arrested for prostitution and related offenses and instead has provided these children a non-punitive, victim-centered response. In addition to reviewing the components of the policy and data from the first three years of implementation, several cases will be discussed to illustrate the collaboration to meet the children’s needs, the benefits, and challenges of the FRP.