Study Focused On Human Trafficking In Sacramento County Hopes To Shed Light On Problem

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - The Sacramento region continues to have relatively high amounts of human trafficking, and now officials are conducting a study they hope, will help tackle the problem.

California consistently has one of the highest rates of human trafficking reports in the country, with Sacramento County being targeted by human traffickers because of its proximity to larger cities, according to State Senator Dr. Richard Pan's office.

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In order to better tackle the problem of human trafficking, officials say they need more data and have made Sacramento a focal point of a three-year research project on sex trafficking.

One of the focal points of the study will be Stockton Boulevard in South Sacramento. It's one of the many commercial corridors in the county that has had a long history of sex trafficking.

With the help of Sacramento City Councilman Eric Guerra, State Senator Richard Pan and the California Department of Justice, the state is allocating $1.5 million to Sacramento to lead a study that will hopefully benefit other cities in the state.

The effort comes as regional leaders push to revitalize the troubled Stockton Boulevard corridor.