H.E.A.T. Watch - Alameda County District Attorney's Office

Visit our new website at www.heat-watch.org

What is H.E.A.T?
H.E.A.T. is Human Exploitation and Trafficking.

Human trafficking is a form of modern day slavery, and it exists in every region of the world and in all types of labor industries. “Slavery is about one person completely controlling another person using violence and then exploiting them economically, paying them nothing.”
-- Kevin Bales, 'Disposable People'.

For non-emergencies, report suspected human trafficking by calling the H.E.A.T. Watch Tip-Line at 510-208-4959 or email at HEATWatch-DA@acgov.org. Requests for anonymity will be honored.

Mission

The mission of the H.E.A.T. Watch program is to build and increase the capacity of all child-serving professionals (CSP) and communities to effectively respond to and combat CSEC (commercially sexually exploited children) in their jurisdictions.

Goals

The primary goals of H.E.A.T. Watch are victim safety and trafficker accountability. H.E.A.T. Watch provides law enforcement and community partners with effective and proven strategies to improve local, regional, and national capacity to identify, intervene in, investigate, and prosecute CSEC cases while supporting and protecting youth who are victims and/or are at-risk for CSE.

About H.E.A.T. Watch

H.E.A.T. Watch is a joint effort of several agencies, disciplines, and individuals, facilitated by ACDAO leadership. Under the H.E.A.T. Watch umbrella, the District Attorney, Health Care, Law Enforcement, Community Advocates, Probation, Courts, Social Services, Businesses, and the Community, partner to combat human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). H.E.A.T. Watch supports an effective response by all those who interact with children who are victims of and/or are at-risk for commercial sexual exploitation (CSE). By joining forces, and leveraging financial resources, H.E.A.T. Watch strives to address all aspects of CSEC, including providing victimized youth with resources they need to be safe and grow healthy and strong, by reaching out to those who can help rescue and protect them from abuse and by holding those who exploit them accountable.

H.E.A.T. Watch combines five successful strategies that collaboratively embrace and protect CSEC victims, enhance efforts to investigate and prosecute their traffickers, and stop H.E.A.T.

H.E.A.T. Watch Blueprint [PDF]

What We Do

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office (ACDAO), Human Exploitation and Trafficking (H.E.A.T.) Unit is committed to aggressively prosecuting human traffickers. From January 1, 2006 to July 19, 2011, the District Attorney’s Office has charged 229 defendants in 180 cases. Our human trafficking prosecution data is as follows:

1/1/2006 – 7/19/2011	Defendants/Cases
Charged	229/180
Convicted	140
Pending	31
Probation Violation	11
Parole Violation	1
Forfeiture Proceedings	3
Dismissed	34 (including 1 deceased defendant)
Acquitted	1
Outstanding Warrant	7
Deferred to Federal Prosecution	1

Additionally, various programs were created and developed to address prevention, intervention and aftercare. The following featured programs are some of those created by the ACDAO H.E.A.T. Watch Program and/or in partnership with various agencies throughout Alameda County and the region:

Bay Area H.E.A.T. Coalition (BAHC)

Bay Area H.E.A.T. Coalition (BAHC) (BAHC Summary [PDF]) was established to increase communication, cooperation, and collaboration between local, state, and federal law enforcement, service providers, systems, community members, and existing human trafficking task forces in the 9 Bay Area Counties with special emphasis on Alameda, San Francisco, and Contra Costa counties. BAHC’s main purpose is to:

Enhance local efforts to increase victim identification and recovery as well as effective investigation and prosecution of local and multi-jurisdictional trafficking cases
Support and coordinate existing and emerging local service provider networks to fully function at the regional level
Coordinate existing task forces and local law enforcement efforts to proactively function at a regional level
Create and support regional capacity to identify trafficking trends and patterns throughout the Bay Area.

Safety Net

Safety Net is a multi-disciplinary case review that takes place weekly to identify and create a safety plan for at-risk and high risk victims of commercial sexual exploitation. Referrals for the meeting come from local law enforcement, probation, social services, and prosecutors who have interfaced with youth. Safety Net utilizes a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) approach, in which members are able to share confidential information with collaborative partner agencies to create both an immediate and long-term safety plan for youth who are referred to the meetings.

From the start of Safety Net on January 13^th, 2011 to June 30^th, 2011, there were 97 cases reviewed. Initial data we have gathered from these meetings has provided us with the following findings:

62% of identified youth are from Alameda County, with the majority being residents of Oakland, California.
Of the identified youth were 70% African-American; 18% were Latina; 4% were Caucasian; 4% were Multi-racial; 2% were Filipina; and 2% were unknown
36% of identified youth were trafficked into Alameda County (Oakland) from other jurisdictions in California, including Sacramento, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Stanislaus, and San Bernardino counties
2% of youth were trafficked from Oregon
The age range of the identified minors was between 12-18 years old. 53% of the youth were 17+; 44% were 14-15; and, 3% were 12-13 years old
At the time they were identified to Safety Net, 57% of the youth were on juvenile probation for various offenses; 38% are active 300s, and only 5% have no previous involvement in either the dependency or delinquency systems.

Alameda County Diversion Program

Alameda County Diversion Program is a 12-week educational and counseling program for girls involved in CSEC who have an opportunity to dismiss any related charges upon their successful completion of the course. Curriculum is designed to meet the specific needs of this population, and include such topics as an overview of the juvenile justice system, healthy relationships and decision making, understanding their the culture surrounding the “life”, and assistance in achieving their dreams.

Girls Court

Girls Court establishes a gender-specific approach to girls entering the juvenile justice system, and consists of CSEC’s and other minors who are in need of more wrap-around services and closer supervision. Girls Court began in May 2011 and takes place at the Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center, where it is staffed by the same Public Defender, District Attorney, and two alternate Judges in order to provide consistency and sensitivity for the girls coming through. Girls Court also acts as a referral source for the Diversion Program, of which the same individuals involved in the court process, follow the minors through their education and life skills training course.

Neighborhood H.E.A.T. Watch Program

Our Neighborhood H.E.A.T. Watch Program is an outreach and training effort created to involve community members and businesses in the same way that Neighborhood Watch does. Specifically, we ask residents to “open their eyes, watch, and take action”. Specifically, we speak to individuals, faith-based agencies, and community groups about CSEC and H.E.A.T. Watch, and provide them with tools to effectively and anonymously report suspected human trafficking crimes in their area. Moreover, we support various other awareness-raising programs in the community that include:

The development of a targeted strategic outreach effort to businesses on the Track, schools, students and community members with the Oakland Police Department and the East Bay Asian Youth Center (EBAYC)
Support other at-risk and advocacy youth programs by BAWAR, MISSSEY, DreamCatchers, and Youth Radio

Download H.E.A.T. Watch Flyer - Legal size

Download H.E.A.T. Watch Flyer - Letter size