Councilmembers Invite City Prosecutor To Report On "John's Exposed" (Anti-Prostitution) Program

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(Jan. 20, 2015) -- Councilman Rex Richardson, joined by Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal and Councilmembers Lena Gonzalez and Dee Andrews, have agendized an item for tonight's (Jan. 20) City Council to receive and file a report from the City Prosecutor's office (Doug Haubert) "to educate the City Council and the public" on the "John's Exposed" anti-prostitution program. In their agendizing memo, the four Councilmembers note that the program was implemented by the City Prosecutor's office partnering with LBPD in 2014 to reveal individuals who've been convicted of prostitution crimes.

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"Long Beach joined other cities in exposing 'Johns' in an effort to educate the public about the link between prostitution and human trafficking, and to remind those considering purchasing sex that Long Beach does not tolerate prostitution," the Councilmembers write. "Human trafficking of victims is not easy for law enforcement to detect. The industry exists because of its high demand. As long as there is a steady stream of customers, there will be a market for human trafficking of women and girls. The Johns Exposed Program aims to deter these crimes."

The item is on the "consent calendar" (items not normally discussed unless Councilmembers or the public request separate discussion) but we presume some discussion will take place on this.

The Planning Commission also voted to increase (instead of Council proposed decrease) the required size for outdoor posters giving notice of upcoming hearings while standardizing the size (a Council recommendation) to standard size E.

The motion, which passed on a 4-0 vote, asked city staff to begin informally asking persons who contact the city about hearing matters how they learned of the upcoming hearing (via written notice, outdoor posted notice, internet or social media) and report the findings to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission's recommendation will now presumably be forwarded to the City Council.