J W August

1 month ago | timesofsandiego.com | J W August

Last week Democratic lawmaker Maggy Krell, a former sex trafficking prosecutor for the California Attorney General’s Office, was angry when her legislation was torched. This week, it was a far different story. Last Tuesday’s loss is this week’s victory — with some caveats. The Assembly Public Safety Committee, which had originally cut out a key element of Krell’s sex trafficking bill, Assembly Bill 379, changed its mind and put it back in.

1 month ago | timesofsandiego.com | J W August

Efforts to make it an automatic felony to buy a 16- or 17-year-old for sex in California were rejected by the Assembly Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, drawing surprise and anger from lawmakers seeking to combat sex trafficking. “I wholeheartedly disagree with that amendment,” said Assemblymember Maggy Krell, who introduced Assembly Bill 379 to fight sex trafficking in the state.

1 month ago | timesofsandiego.com | J W August

For years California’s state legislature has wrestled with creating new laws to protect victims of the sex trade while supporting law enforcement’s efforts to crack down on human trafficking. Two new bills have now arrived with that goal. They are working their way through the legislative hearing process. They carry with them the challenge of correcting previous legislative miscues. Critics, from both sides of the issue, say those earlier bills were flawed.

2 months ago | timesofsandiego.com | J W August

Trafficking of humans continues to be a serious problem in California. A recent statewide conference organized by former underscored the issue and the need to strengthen legislation addressing human trafficking legislation not only in California, but across the nation. The conference, which was attended by dozens of human trafficking activists, was an acknowledgement that some state legislation has forced traffickers to change their tactics.

Mar 9, 2025 | timesofsandiego.com | J W August

A suggestion by a San Diego City Council Committee to rework the city’s Commission on Police Practices met with sharp resistance last week from the citizen’s panel. Instead, the commission created to oversee the San Diego Police Department rejected the recommendations of the council’s Public Safety Committee to — among other things — change the role of the executive director, whose allegiance would then no longer be to the commission but rather to the City Council.