Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Human Trafficking topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council backs staff plan to convene community meeting on human‑trafficking hotspots; police recommend pilot to limit parking and move food trucks
Summary
After months of complaints about prostitution and trafficking near Kern, King and Roosevelt streets, Salinas police briefed the council May 27 on a cross‑department response and proposed a 6‑month pilot that could include no‑parking or residential‑permit parking, removing food trucks, targeted lighting and cameras, and community outreach.
Salinas police and city staff told the City Council on May 27 they will convene a community meeting and explore a short pilot to test measures aimed at reducing human‑trafficking and prostitution activity concentrated near Kern, King and Roosevelt streets.
Commander Warner and Police Chief Acosta summarized the operational change since the state repeal of Penal Code 653.22 (loitering with intent to solicit prostitution) and the impact of the Safer Streets for All Act. Chief staff said the 2023 repeal removed a tool the department used to detain or remove persons for street‑level solicitation; officers have continued enforcement using a municipal code infraction (Salinas Municipal Code §21‑32b) but that is an infraction with limited penalties.
Warner presented a cross‑department coordination approach that the city has been using — public works, police, community development, library and community services, legal and homeless outreach — and recommended several near‑term steps: a 6‑month pilot to make Kern Street (between East Alisal and East Market) a no‑parking or residential‑permit zone (including removing food vendors from the corridor during the pilot), a targeted lighting and camera assessment for the Alisal vibrancy plan area, and a public community meeting to get neighborhood and business input before any pilot is implemented.
Police said the food trucks are not accused of wrongdoing but that the presence of vending in the corridor has been cited by officers and by some people interviewed on the street as one reason purchasers and sellers congregate in that block. Commanders said they would prefer to negotiate alternative, nearby locations for vendors rather than impose an immediate forced removal; the pilot was recommended to give staff a chance to test the effects. Police also described prior undercover and multi‑agency operations that resulted in arrests for pimping, pandering and conspiracy.
Councilmembers from several districts urged quick action and unanimous support for a public meeting; several residents and pastors from the Roosevelt/King corridor asked the city to move quickly to reduce visible solicitation and make the neighborhood safer for churchgoers and children. Food vendors in the room said they operate legitimate businesses and asked to be included in outreach and relocation talks rather than surprised by enforcement.
Ending: Council directed staff to schedule a community meeting, to assess low‑cost camera/lighting options and to return with a draft pilot plan and outreach schedule. Staff will engage vendors, hotels, churches and neighborhood residents before any pilot begins; council also asked staff to seek state legislative support to restore misdemeanor loitering authority. No ordinance changes or enforcement directives were adopted at the May 27 meeting.
