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SLO COUNTY DETECTIVE’S 25-YEAR CAREER MARKED BY EFFORTS AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Major Crime Fighter by Camille DeVaul
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n January, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow honored Senior Investigator JT Camp for over 25 years with the county. Through his quarter of a century in law enforcement, JT has worked with the SLO Probation Department, the Sheriff ’s Office and played a key role in developing the county’s Human Trafficking Task Force.
Oscar Higueros Jr., a former Cayucos firefighter, was sentenced to 182 years in prison in 2016. Richard Scott Brooks of San Francisco was sentenced to over 60 years—both for terrible human trafficking crimes.
It was that case that inspired the county to launch the Human Trafficking Task Force in 2018. The new task force consisted of one inJT began his career in law enforcement in 1996 vestigator from the sheriff ’s department and one with the County’s probation department. He was more from the district attorney’s office, JT. focused on the Southern part of SLO County, working with the juvenile hall. Then in 2000, JT JT says prior to the task force being created, the started his career with the sheriff ’s department, county had a mostly reactive approach to human still based in the south county, including areas trafficking. This is the first proactive approach to like Oceano. During those first few years with solving human trafficking in SLO County and the department, JT was your typical patrol officer, is internally funded. but he soon worked his way into the Bureau of Investigations, working the major crimes division. “I think we knew certainly human trafficking was present on the Central Coast,” JT says of “I do think that anyone that is in the law what he has learned since launching the task enforcement business is really in it for noble force. “I think what we learned was the extent reasons,” said JT. “I think at the heart of it that to how much there was much greater.” the vast majority of the people that get into law enforcement do want to serve their community The task force focuses on disrupting the counand do want to help people.” ty’s trafficking market. JT explains that human trafficking markets vary depending on their loWhen you ask JT which case stands out to him cation. In SLO County, the market is primarily most throughout his career, he can’t pick one. In- based online and within social media. JT and his stead, it was the entire year of 2010 that stood out team focus on a holistic approach to tackling the to him. That year started and ended with brutal industry by educating the community and busihomicides, with several others in between—one nesses like hotels who are most likely to witness it. of the busiest years the county has seen. “There is a huge gap. People either didn’t know He has seen a lot through his career. If he could what to look for, or they misidentified it or maybe give the public advice based on those years, he didn’t know what to do with it. So we put an emsays, “Common sense goes a long way in terms phasis on wrapping people’s heads around ‘yeah, of knowing that there is good and bad out there; it is here’ and what it actually looks like. Not so being aware of your surroundings.” much what TV says it looks like,” commented JT.
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow honored JT Camp for his 25 years of service.. Contributed photo
of work and those sort of cases can be all-consuming.” But no matter how difficult his job can be, JT would do it all over again if he had the chance: “Sometimes I feel that way [choose another career] but overall the reward for speaking up for those who don’t have a voice, advocating for victims trying to do the right thing and help others, the pay off on that part of it has been so much better than even the bad days—if I could do it all over again, would I do it all over again? I would say absolutely yes.”
Then in 2012, JT was hired on as an investigator with the District Attorney’s office, where he remains today. But JT hasn’t left the Sheriff ’s Office entirely. Instead, he is assigned to the sheriff ’s Special Operations Unit, meaning JT is loaned to the Sheriff ’s Office for major crimes.
He continues, “It can be a hard job, and it can be a depressing thing where you only see the worst in most situations, but at the heart of it, I think it is a noble calling, and we need people to keep stepping up that are willing to serve their He notes that many people see human traf- community and willing to help people where they ficking through the lens of films like “Taken” or can and really to go and advocate for the people “Pretty Woman.” While he says kidnappings who don’t have voices.” are entirely possible, human trafficking in SLO County is most likely to happen over the internet For more information on the San Luis Obispo and through methods like grooming. County Human Trafficking Task Force, visit:
Today most people associate JT with the county’s Human Trafficking Task Force. His first big human trafficking case came in 2014. It took investigators two years, start to finish, to close the case—and it brought some hefty sentences for the criminals.
Being in law enforcement within divisions like slocounty.ca.gov/Departments/District-Atmajor crimes and human trafficking is no easy torney/Victim-Witness-Assistance-Center/ task. JT says, “You have to get good at compart- Human-Trafficking.aspx mentalizing but then also having some sort of healthy outlets—the important part is trying to And for the National Human Trafficking maintain that healthy balance because that sort Hotline, visit humantraffickinghotline.org
CentralCoastJournal.com
MARCH 2022 | 17
