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Local law enforcement prepare for human trafficking at major sporting events

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Flickr / Creative Commons

Next month's NBA All-Star Game at San Francisco’s Chase Center is the first of a series of major sporting events being hosted locally.

Super Bowl LX in 2026, and the FIFA 2026 World Cup are also going to take place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Each event will likely draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to the region, bringing with them another problem – the illegal sex trade.

According to the Alliance to End Human Trafficking, large sporting events and the attendant crowds can be accompanied by an increased demand for commercial sex services.

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice hosted a webinar in San Francisco to announce the establishment of a working group to tackle the problem. Nearly 200 people from law enforcement and the public and private sector took part.

California leads the U.S. in the number of confirmed human trafficking cases over the last five years, with more than 11,000 – nearly 30 percent of the national total.

Sunni M. Khalid is a veteran of more than 40 years in journalism, having worked in print, radio, television, and web journalism.