Executive Summary
- Republican candidate Steve Hilton visited South L.A. to campaign against the Safer Streets for All Act.
- The 2022 law decriminalized loitering with the intent to engage in prostitution to prevent profiling.
- Law enforcement groups argue the legislation hampers their ability to identify and rescue trafficking victims.
- Federal prosecutors recently indicted 11 alleged gang members for controlling prostitution in the area.
Steve Hilton, a Republican candidate for California governor, visited a notorious sex-trafficking corridor in South Los Angeles on Monday, pledging to rescind a state law that decriminalized loitering for the purpose of prostitution. Speaking from the intersection of Figueroa and 77th streets, an area known as “The Blade,” Hilton argued that the 2022 Safer Streets for All Act has exacerbated the exploitation of women and minors in the city.
During the campaign event, Hilton stated he had witnessed a young girl, estimated to be approximately 8 years old, being sold to a customer in the area the previous Friday night. “Our children are being sold here,” Hilton said, while displaying photographs of young women on the street. He attributed the persistence of the open-air sex trade to the state’s Democratic leadership and Governor Gavin Newsom, characterizing the situation as an “evil” trade that is being neglected by officials.
The legislation at the center of Hilton’s critique, SB 357, was authored by State Senator Scott Wiener and eliminated the misdemeanor offense of loitering with the intent to engage in prostitution. Proponents of the bill argued that the previous law allowed law enforcement to profile and harass LGBTQ+ individuals and Black and Brown women based on subjective criteria, such as their clothing. However, the Los Angeles Police Protective League issued a statement Monday asserting that SB 357 “was a human sex trafficker and pimp’s dream come true” and called for its repeal.
Federal authorities have continued to intervene in the area despite changes to state law. In August, a federal indictment charged 11 alleged gang members and associates with controlling prostitution along a 3.5-mile stretch of the Figueroa corridor. According to prosecutors, these groups recruited minors and runaways, including children from the foster care system, branding them with tattoos to denote ownership. Hilton cited a New York Times report in which officers claimed the state law hinders their ability to rescue such minors before they are victimized.
Legislative and Public Safety Implications
The controversy surrounding SB 357 highlights the complex balance between protecting civil rights and enforcing public safety in California. While the repeal of the loitering statute was intended to curb discriminatory policing practices, law enforcement advocacy groups maintain that it has removed a preventative tool necessary to disrupt trafficking networks at the street level. The reliance on federal indictments to address these crimes indicates a strategic shift toward prosecuting organized conspiracy rather than individual loitering offenses. It is important to note that all individuals named in criminal indictments are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
