{"id":373163,"date":"2025-11-12T05:03:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T05:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/373163\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T05:03:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T05:03:18","slug":"police-advocates-question-sweeps-targeting-prostitution-on-phoenixs-blade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/373163\/","title":{"rendered":"Police, advocates question sweeps targeting prostitution on Phoenix\u2019s \u2018Blade\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 Several local law enforcement agencies say recent sweeps along 27th Avenue north of Indian School Road were aimed at combating human trafficking, but advocates argue the arrests target victims of these crimes<\/a> rather than suspects.<\/p>\n

The stretch of 27th Avenue between Indian School and Bethany Home roads is known as the \u201dBlade,\u201d and concerns from neighbors prompted what Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell<\/a> calls \u201cOperation New Beginnings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just the human trafficking that\u2019s occurring. It\u2019s what goes with the human trafficking, so with that comes drugs, with that comes violence,\u201d Mitchell said.<\/p>\n

Recent arrest operations<\/p>\n

Mitchell\u2019s office partnered with the Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office, Phoenix Police, Grand Canyon University Police and other agencies on the sweeps. During three days in August, they arrested 47 people, charging them with misdemeanor prostitution. Officials said among those arrested was a victim of child sex trafficking.<\/p>\n

Last week, another two-day sweep resulted in 22 arrests, with those arrested again charged with misdemeanor prostitution.<\/p>\n

Lauren Hersh, a former prosecutor and national director<\/a> for World Without Exploitation<\/a>, the largest anti-trafficking coalition in the country, criticized the approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really sad and disappointing,\u201d Hersh said. \u201cThe vast majority of people sold in the sex trade are just that, they\u2019re not there by choice. They\u2019re there because of force, because of coercion or because of lack of other options.\u201d<\/p>\n

Different approaches to similar cases<\/p>\n

When asked how advocates\u2019 concerns that those arrested are trafficking victims rather than criminals are justified, Mitchell said her office reviews every case.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to review every case submitted to us, whether it targets individuals such as these or whether we\u2019re going to be looking at the traffickers themselves,\u201d Mitchell said.<\/p>\n

The Glendale Police Department handles similar cases differently. Their vice unit has transitioned to focus on human trafficking.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes an arrest is not the solution,\u201d said Officer Moroni Mendez, Glendale Police<\/a> public information officer. \u201cWe have to look at the totality of the circumstances and deem what\u2019s better for the victim or the suspect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Court outcomes<\/p>\n

The city of Phoenix confirmed 437 prostitution cases were filed last year, including people working in prostitution and buyers. Of those cases, 114 were dismissed.<\/p>\n

When asked about concerns from a former prosecutor regarding releasing mugshots and putting misdemeanors on individuals\u2019 records, Mitchell said agencies handle mugshot releases.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, we would love to work with these individuals and give them the chance to turn their lives around,\u201d Mitchell said.<\/p>\n

Mitchell said the operation is just the beginning, with the goal of arresting traffickers and making the area safer. Advocates say if law enforcement doesn\u2019t target buyers, the activity will continue in other neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2025 KTVK\/KPHO. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX (AZFamily) \u2014 Several local law enforcement agencies say recent sweeps along 27th Avenue north of Indian School…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":373164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5131],"tags":[179582,5229,179584,5643,1587,179580,179583,179581,1589,179577,179578,179579,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-373163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-phoenix","tag-the-blade-27th-avenue-phoenix","tag-america","tag-anti-trafficking-advocates-phoenix","tag-arizona","tag-az","tag-human-trafficking-crackdown-phoenix","tag-misdemeanor-prostitution-charges-phoenix","tag-operation-new-beginnings-phoenix","tag-phoenix","tag-phoenix-human-trafficking","tag-phoenix-prostitution-arrests","tag-prostitution-sweeps-phoenix","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115534981058973973","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}