Response to ACLU criticism of sting operation targeting human traffickers

Cranston – «The goal of the operations conducted by the Cranston Police Department, in concert
with Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies, was to identify individuals
profiting from trafficking young men and women for sex and to assist the victims in
obtaining the resources they desperately need to escape a life of misery and
despair. We also targeted the Johns, who fuel the demand for this illicit activity
and make human trafficking a profitable business. Most often the young men and
women forced into human trafficking suffer grave physical and emotional abuse and
the only way to ensure they can take the necessary steps towards freedom and
recovery is through an arrest and court ordered treatment. It is rare for victims
of human trafficking to seek assistance on their own as their ability to recognize a
need for help is diminished from drug use and conditioning that their lives are
worthless. If we arrest only one human trafficker, or save at least one young person
being victimized out of the many other arrests we make for procuring sexual conduct
for a fee, the operation is a success and well worth the effort. We will not shield
the identities of individuals who come into the City of Cranston looking to pay for
sex and will continue to be transparent by making the names of those arrested
available to the public through our Department website and media releases.»