SECTION 1
Using Media to Promote Demand Deterrence Another important aspect of community-level deterrence of demand is the role of media, illustrated by its strong role in the Super Bowl demand deterrence efforts with the Arizona’s Not Buying It Campaign. The campaign consisted of PSAs featuring Kurt Warner and other NFL players and executives and aired on television and in Harkins movie theaters in Arizona. The release of the PSAs subsequently led to the engagement of over 200 NFL players who remain visible in raising awareness. As reflected in Shared Hope’s 2014 Demanding Justice Report, community awareness and engagement plays an important role in setting priorities around demand enforcement. Along with the increase in proactive anti-demand operations has come increased media attention on anti-demand efforts in Arizona, particularly sting operations targeting buyers of sex with juveniles. As reflected in the timeline on pages 14-15, media in Arizona regularly reports on stings involving buyers of sex with juveniles. While media coverage is fairly consistent at the time of arrest, it often does not follow through to conviction and thus fails to serve as a warning to potential buyers by highlighting the serious consequences of a conviction. Furthermore, greater media coverage of convictions would invite the public’s scrutiny on the process from arrest to conviction and on how judges weigh the seriousness of these offenses at sentencing. Finally, media coverage of legislative efforts to increase penalties for buyers and promote more and better prosecutions through stronger laws has an important impact on deterring demand in the community and promoting awareness.
Deterrence Through Proactive Enforcement Efforts While proactive enforcement efforts have been ongoing in Phoenix for years, other cities in Maricopa County that surround Phoenix have substantially increased their operations to combat demand more recently. In 2014, the law enforcement community in Arizona created Operation Blue Wave to intensify existing proactive enforcement efforts to address the threat of increased sex trafficking with the influx of visitors for the Super Bowl hosted in Glendale, AZ. These efforts demonstrated a broad-based deterrence effort focused on prevention rather than reaction to sex trafficking. The FBI in Phoenix worked closely with local law enforcement from Phoenix Police Department and other Maricopa County police departments through the Greater Phoenix Human Trafficking Task Force. Together, they implemented the aggressive proactive campaign to prevent sex trafficking from occurring at and around the Super Bowl by advertising the strict enforcement of anti-demand laws in the region months in advance of the event. While obtaining an accurate measure of the deterrence value of any particular effort to combat sex trafficking is difficult for many reasons related to the nature of the offense, participants were able to point to indicators of effective efforts to deter demand. One way deterrence was measured during the Super Bowl operations was by monitoring conversations between buyers on the online “john boards.” Comments posted on these boards around the time of the Super Bowl reflected awareness of the increase in enforcement efforts, particularly with regard to Backpage. com, an online classified site that offers an “Adult Services” section that has been linked to cases
24 Shared Hope International