SECTION 2
Identification and Investigation of Buyers As front line responders, law enforcement officers play a critical role in identifying and arresting those who drive the demand for sex trafficked youth. While law enforcement in Maricopa, Yavapai and Pima all reported a strong focus on recovering victims (discussed below), efforts to identify and arrest buyers of sex with minors varied amongst the three sites.
I haven’t seen any specific trends when it comes to buyers … older, younger, married, not married … there is no specific demographic that I’ve seen … other than males… — DETECTIVE SCOTT CARPENTER, SCOTTSDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Maricopa County Phoenix has been actively engaged for several years in running proactive sting operations to identify and build cases against buyers. Sting operations have been the primary method for investigating buyers of sex with minors since other methods have not been as effective. Since investigations of buyers netted through online sting operations do not lead to victim recoveries because no actual minor is involved, victim recovery operations are generally pursued separately from buyer investigations. The exception to this is the instance where the buyer initially contacted the minor victim and a law enforcement officer stepped in to take over communication. Outside of sting operations, law enforcement generally only identify buyers if they happen to catch them engaged in a sex act with a minor. Otherwise, identifying buyers by working with victims is difficult for several reasons: (1) victims do not recall names and identifying details about buyers, (2) victims cannot provide enough information about when and where the offense occurred in order to build a case for prosecution, (3) tracking down buyers using text messages and call logs is not feasible considering the volume of buyers and the time and resources necessary to build a case based on that information. In addition, the information necessary to identify and arrest buyers is rarely available since many victims meet buyers in a car or hotel. Law enforcement in Maricopa County reported attempts to identify buyers by asking victims about their first, last and worst “dates” but many of the preceding factors still apply when this approach is used to identify buyers. As a result, when a victim is identified, law enforcement generally work with the victim to identify the trafficker and do not seek to identify and arrest the buyers. However, law enforcement pointed out two cases that were investigated based on victim tips because the buyers took them to a house and neighborhood familiar to the minor victims enabling them to provide law enforcement with enough information to identify, investigate and arrest the buyers. While anti-demand sting operations have been ongoing in Phoenix for several years, other cities in Maricopa County
29 Demanding Justice Arizona: A Field Assessment of Demand Deterrence and Enforcement and Justice for Victims