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Legislation to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation
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Speaking at press conference with Councilmember Kettle and City Attorney Davison on North 101st Street, with Aurora Avenue North in the background. Image from Seattle Channel video.
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On Thursday, August 1st I announced new legislation to crack down on commercial sexual exploitation, at a press conference on North 101st Street just off Aurora Avenue. I was joined at the podium by Public Safety Committee Chair Councilmember Bob Kettle, and City Attorney Ann Davison. We also heard from a longtime Aurora Avenue business owner and a local resident, and dozens of neighborhood residents showed up in support. You can view the Seattle Channel recording here.
Over the past year, gun violence on Aurora Avenue and in adjoining neighborhoods has escalated. In a span of 60 days from mid-May to mid-July, there were 31 shooting incidents in the area, according to the SPD count, and several more have occurred since. In June, a rolling gun battle on Linden Avenue from N. 101st to N. 96th left stray bullets in a child’s bedroom wall. Car windows have been shot out and houses peppered with bullet holes. In addition to gun violence, assaults and intimidation along the Aurora Avenue corridor have become regular occurrences. Business owners along Aurora Avenue have been assaulted by individuals engaged in the sex trade after requesting them to leave the business's property. Residents report being threatened that they will be “popped” after confronting individuals actively engaging in commercial sexual activity in front of their homes.
According to the Seattle Police Department (SPD), much of the gun violence is driven by the active and lucrative sex trade along the Aurora Avenue corridor. SPD detectives report that the net proceeds for a pimp per trafficked individual per day can be between $6,000 and $7,000. Seattle is widely believed to be second only to the notorious Figueroa Street neighborhood in Los Angeles in terms of the total street value of sex work.
Since coming into office in January of this year, I have received countless emails and phone calls from scared and frustrated constituents demanding action; many have called for restoring the previously repealed loitering for purposes of prostitution law to curtail commercial sexual exploitation and the violence associated with it.
Prior to drafting the legislation announced on Thursday, I met with many groups: survivors of the sex trade, SPD’s human trafficking unit, service providers, the City Attorney’s office and residents. Their feedback, particularly of the survivors, was invaluable and informed each provision of the bill.
Survivors told me: 1) enforcement actions should target buyers and pimps, 2) separating exploited individuals from their pimps is essential to helping them successfully exit the sex trade, 3) more support services are needed, 4) law enforcement needs specialized training in working with survivors of commercial sexual exploitation, 5) survivors of commercial sexual exploitation with arrests and/or convictions for prostitution-related crimes need help vacating those convictions and clearing arrest records and 6) any exclusion area must include exemptions for survivors of commercial sexual exploitation to access services.
My legislation incorporates survivors' concerns by creating the first in the nation gross misdemeanor for “promoting loitering for purposes of prostitution”, to explicitly target pimps based on observable behaviors indicative of promoting loitering. SPD's Human Trafficking Unit explained that the current crime of promoting prostitution (a felony) makes it difficult to pursue pimps because they need the exploited individual to testify against their pimp. Testifying can be dangerous, so understandably few are willing to testify. This legislation gives SPD the tool they need to pursue pimps without the exploited individual’s testimony.
Unlike the previous loitering ordinance that focused on the selling of sex, this legislation focuses on the buying of sex by providing multiple, clear grounds for arresting buyers, based on observable behaviors of loitering for prostitution. While the Human Trafficking Unit can currently arrest buyers for the crime of prostitution, arrest requires observation by the arresting officer of engagement in or agreeing to engage in sexual conduct with another for a fee. This requirement means successful prostitution arrests generally require sting operations where women police officers pose as selling sex. We should not have to rely on our women officers in such a capacity especially when we are seeking to hire more women officers and improve their working conditions. This legislation gives SPD the tool they need to pursue buyers without relying on our women officers having to pose as selling sex.
Like the drug ordinance passed last year, the legislation focuses on diversion. In the case of loitering and prostitution, the legislation states, “to minimize the harm caused by the criminal legal system to survivors of commercial sexual exploitation, diversion, referral to social services, safe house placement, and other alternatives are the preferred disposition..." In our discussions, the City Attorney and SPD have both committed to diversion as the preferred disposition for survivors of commercial sexual exploitation.
Of course, we need more diversion resources. I have asked the Mayor’s Office to include funding for an emergency receiving center in their upcoming 2025-2026 budget proposal. I have also publicly committed to bringing a funding request for an emergency receiving center when the Council considers the Mayor’s proposed 2025-2026 budget this fall.
The legislation mandates training for all police officers in evidence based best practices for interacting with survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. The legislation also requires the development of a City-funded program to assist survivors vacate convictions and clear arrest history.
As for the Stay Out of Area of Prostitution or SOAP zone, this is intended as another tool to combat commercial sexual exploitation by giving our Municipal Court judges the authority, in the exercise of their judicial discretion to bar individual buyers and pimps from engaging in the promotion and purchase of commercial sex along Aurora Avenue and adjacent neighborhoods. Over the years, the Aurora Avenue SOAP in Shoreline has served as an effective deterrent to the sex trade and its associated violence.
Combating commercial sexual exploitation requires a multifaceted response. I've met with the Mayor's Office about potential road changes and encouraged greater police patrols, and very much appreciate the collaborative work the Mayor's Office has done to facilitate SDOT's road restrictions on and around North 101st Street and elsewhere. Those changes have significantly improved safety, and residents and businesses are grateful. However, other residents and businesses have noted an increase in activity elsewhere, around 109th, for example.
The increased police patrols ordered by Interim Chief Rahr are helping as well, but with SPD's low staffing levels, these may not be permanently sustainable, as other areas in North Seattle have public safety challenges as well.
The Council has approved automated license plate readers for police vehicles. These will soon be in every patrol car and will identify stolen cars, outstanding warrants, and missing persons. A pilot CCTV project for Aurora Avenue proposed by the Mayor will be considered sometime this year. These actions will all help, and I appreciate them.
But the fact remains that keeping the residents, the school kids, and the businesses of the Aurora Avenue corridor and adjacent neighborhoods safe, requires legal tools to disrupt commercial sex trafficking, to provide opportunities for an exit from the sex trade, and to stand up for our communities.
The legislation is scheduled to be heard in the Public Safety Committee on August 13th, at the regular 9:30 a.m. meeting. The agenda will be available at the City Clerks' meeting calendar website. As with all legislation before the council, it is very important for Council members to hear from the public. You can testify in person at City Hall on August 13th at 9:30 a.m. or provide phone testimony. For more information about providing public comments, please feel free to reach out to my office via email or phone.
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Cathy Moore
Seattle City Council // District 5
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