Broken Arrow Police target human trafficking in commercial sex trade arrests

Broken Arrow Police say they've made several recent arrests as part of an ongoing operation targeting people involved in the commercial sex trade.

News On 6 talked with an undercover officer who says the sex trade is directly tied to human trafficking, and that's their focus.

Going after the facilitators:

The officer says this operation is not just about taking prostitutes to jail, they want to arrest the people who are forcing women to sell themselves.

"There's a nationwide ongoing problem with commercial sex. Anybody who has access to the internet and these commercial sex sites has access to it. There's no community that's immune to it," said the officer.

The officer says all of the recent arrests have come from online sex ads. The undercover officers have acted as men looking to pay for sexual encounters and set up meetings with women in Broken Arrow, who were advertising sex.

Police say what's concerning is that these women are all ages, even teenagers.

Human Trafficking Impacts Every Community:

The officer says it turns to human trafficking when the women are being forced and their handler keeps the money.

They say it's a major problem and is going on in every community across the country.

He says commercial sex is also tied to drugs, guns and violence.

"This isn't any sort of operation where we are just going after young prostitutes. We want to find the people that are directly involved with facilitating this, that are making money through these young women," said the Officer.

Breaking the Cycle:

The officer says that when they arrest a person who is selling sex, they don't just take them to jail. They interview them, set them up with counselors and advocates to help get them out of that lifestyle.

"Ultimately, we want to break the cycle of exploitation and to and arrest the facilitators. Anybody that is controlling these human trafficking victims," said the officer. "It's not just about targeting individuals, we want to offer help to those who need it and maintaining safety and integrity in our community.

If you suspect someone is a victim of human trafficking, call law enforcement.