Pomona, CA
Categories:
Tactics Used |
|
---|---|
Reverse stings | ✓ |
Shaming | ✓ |
Auto seizure | ✓ |
Community service | ✓ |
Public education | ✓ |
Neighborhood action | ✓ |
SOAP orders | ✓ |
John school | ✓ |
Letters | ✓ |
Cameras | ✓ |
Web stings | ✓ |
License suspension | ✓ |
Pomona is a city of approximately 152,000 residents, located in the eastern suburbs of Los Angeles, California. Prostitution, sex trafficking, and related crime have been ongoing problems in the city and surrounding areas of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties for many years. For example, street based prostitution along the “Holt Corridor,” a major thoroughfare in Pomona, is “nationally known” as a place for commercial sex, according to local police. Sex trafficking is also known to be intertwined with prostitution occurring in Pomona (Pomona police ask for tips about human trafficking to be called in to 909-620-2085; those wishing to provide information anonymously can call 1-800-222-TIPS). Enforcement operations are often conducted in response to complaints from residents and business owners.
We do not know when Pomona first began conducting reverse stings, but the city has been committed to conducting them for more than 15 years. Some of the operations have been highly productive; for example, 36 men were arrested in a 10-hour period in one reverse sting in 2007. In May, 2019, police arrested 24 men during an overnight prostitution sting in Pomona, between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. along a portion of the city’s Holt Avenue Corridor known as the “Blade,” the Pomona Police Department said in a written statement. During the operation, undercover female police officers posed as prostituted persons, and once a suspect agreed to pay for sex, the undercover officers gave a signal and fellow officers converged to make arrests. In addition to the 24 arrests, 22 vehicles were impounded during the sting. Pomona Police Department (PPD) officers report that some reversals have produced as many as 80 arrests in a single operation.
Given the relatively small size of the PPD, other departments have assisted Pomona in the larger reverse stings; e.g., the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Cal Poly Pomona, Montclair, La Palma and Chino Police Departments. Police have described cases where men are arrested for trying to buy sex while they have infants and young children in the cars. Police release the names and ages of arrestees to the media, and these are sometimes publicized. Arrested sex buyers may be requried to adhere to Stay-Away orders (SOAP) and may have their vehicles impounded.
In 2007-2008 the PPD investigated implementing a john school program in the city. Research was conducted and officers traveled to Fresno to observe the PAR john school (modeled after the FOPP in San Francisco). The program was viewed favorably, but would have to be modified to work locally. Budget cutbacks reduced the number of reverse stings conducted by PPD, and the movement toward starting a john school was suspended.
Key Partners
- Pomona Police Department
- Cal Poly Pomona Police Department
- Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
- Montclair Police Department
- La Palma Police Department
- Chino Police Department
Key Sources
- National Assessment Survey and Interviews
- Reverse Stings:
- “Pomona; 29 Men Arrested in Sex Solicitation Sting”, Los Angeles Times, June 19 1998.
- “City Stings Prostitution”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, February 21 2003.
- “Pomona Police Sting a Drag for Crooks”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, August 17 2004.
- “Police Arrest Many in Prostitution/John Sting”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, November 14 2004.
- “Prostitution Sting Brings in 46 ‘Johns'”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, March 27 2005.
- “Police Impersonate Prostitutes and ‘Johns’; Arrest 43”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, July 31 2006.
- “28 Arrested during Prostitution Sting in Pomona”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, April 7 2007.
- “Prostitution Sting Nets Six Arrests”,Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, October 5 2007.
- “El Monte City Manager Faces Possible Dismissal after Arrest in Pomona Prostitution Sting”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, October 16 2009.
- “Police Arrest 30 during Pomona Prostitution Sting”, San Bernardino Sun, October 16 2009.
- “12 Alleged ‘Johns’ Arrested in Pomona Prostitution Sting,” Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, April 4 2016.
- https://www.dailybulletin.com/2019/02/24/pomona-police-arrest-19-in-prostitution-sweep/ (2019)
- https://fox59.com/prostitution-sting-leads-to-arrest-of-18-suspects-including-91-year-old-california-man/ (2019)
- https://ktla.com/2019/05/25/24-johns-arrested-in-pomona-undercover-prostitution-sting/ (2019)
- Shaming:
- “Pomona Takes Steps to Stop Prostitution”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, September 4 2002.
- “City to Vote on Anti-Vice Plan”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, September 22 2002.
- “Clients of Prostitutes Span Many Lifestyles”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, December 21 2004.
- “Authorities Reveal Johns’ Real Names in Effort to Crack Down on Prostitution”, KPCC 89.3, October 15 2012.
- “12 Alleged ‘Johns’ Arrested in Pomona Prostitution Sting,” Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, April 4 2016.
- Vehicle Seizures:
- https://ktla.com/18-suspects-including-91-year-old-man-arrested-during-pomona-prostitution-sting/ (2019)
- http://www.foxla.com/news/local-news/two-day-operation-in-pomona-nets-19-prostitution-arrests (2019)
- https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Pomona-Prostitution-Sting-506941311.html (2019)
- https://ktla.com/2019/05/25/24-johns-arrested-in-pomona-undercover-prostitution-sting/ (2019)
- SOAP Orders:
- Neighborhood Action:
- Sex Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation in the Area:
- “Slavery Charge Against Couple Dismissed”, Tuscaloosa News, May 11 1984.
- “Pomona; Couple’s Sex Slavery Case Delayed”, Los Angeles Times, July 19 1984.
- “Pomona Girl, 13, Arrested in Prostitution Sweep”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, August 14 2009.
- “Man Gets 17 1/2 Years for Sex Trafficking”, Orange County Register, June 10 2010.
- “Man Accused of Forcing Teen into Prostitution”, San Diego Union-Tribune, July 15 2010.
- “Teen Arrested for Alleged Prostitution in San Gabriel Valley”, Sierra Madre Patch, July 7 2014.
- “Gang Member Is Charged with Sex Trafficking of 7 Teenage Girls,” Los Angeles Times, January 20 2016.
- https://www.dailybulletin.com/2018/04/19/pomona-police-rescue-17-year-old-victim-arrest-apple-valley-man-during-holt-avenue-prostitution-sting/ (2018)
- Documented Violence against Individuals Engaged in Prostitution in the Area:
- “Police Seek Further Links in 5 Slayings in San Gabriel Valley”, Los Angeles Times, January 7 1994.
- “Suspected ’60 Slayer’ Identified”, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, November 4 2003.
- “Linked by DNA, Man Admits to 6 Slayings”, Los Angeles Times, October 9 2006.
- “Fake Cop Arrested after Raping Hooker”, ABC/KABC-TV 7, January 10 2008.
- Background on Prostitution in the Area:
- “Police Sweep Street Clean of Prostitutes”, Los Angeles Times, March 8 1979.
- “Pomona Council Reviews Plan to Curb Prostitution”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, September 23 2002.
- “Pomona Fights Prostitution”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, January 25 2003.
- “Pomona Takes Steps to End Prostitution”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, January 27 2003.
- “Pomona Residents Commit to City Improvements”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, March 31 2004.
- “Pomona, Police Build Bridges”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, June 12 2005.
- “Web, Rap Drive Holt’s Reputation”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, February 1 2008.
- “4 Arrested in Massage Parlor Investigation”, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, July 16 2010.
- “Pomona Prostitution Sting Nets 13 Arrests,” Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, February 27 2016.
- “Pomona Police Arrest 9 Suspected of Loitering, Prostitution,” Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, March 13 2016.
State | California |
Type | City |
Population | 152931 |
Location |
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