Q&A
Coordination between ACS and NYPD to address trafficking hotspots
0:55:13
ยท
4 min
Council Member Stevens raises concerns about known trafficking hotspots, particularly areas around ACS facilities and group homes. Representatives from ACS and NYPD discuss their coordination efforts to address these issues.
- ACS works closely with local precincts, particularly around the Children's Center, meeting monthly and maintaining frequent communication
- When hotspots are identified, ACS coordinates with NYPD to increase patrols in those areas, especially near girls' group homes
- NYPD provides roll call trainings to patrol officers, educating them on what to look for in potential trafficking situations
- Council Member Stevens expresses disappointment in the lack of a more concrete plan to address these known hotspots
Althea Stevens
0:55:13
What safeguards are in place to monitor, wait, no.
0:55:15
There are known hotspots such as areas outside ACS Children's Center where traffickers are known to target vulnerable young people.
0:55:22
Our NYPD and ACS working together to patrol these areas to ensure the safety of young people, this is another thing that I heard, like, outside the children's centers.
0:55:31
It is a known recruiting area for pimps and folks who do sex trafficking to stand outside, look at the bags that they have to recruit young people because they know that they're vulnerable.
0:55:42
They're outside.
0:55:42
They're like, oh, they have garbage bags, so we know we're gonna target them.
0:55:45
How are you guys working together to make sure this area outside is safe?
Ina Mendez
0:55:52
Is is my understanding, and and I don't I work very closely with the Children's Center, but I do know that they are in frequent conversations with the precinct and they do work a lot to keep youth safe because we know sometimes the youth like to hang out outside the children's center.
0:56:08
They they are very you know, teenagers wanna be out and about.
0:56:11
So I do know they do have a good relationship.
0:56:13
I can't speak to details.
0:56:14
Maybe NYPD might be able to speak more or, you know, but they we thank you for bringing that to our attention, and we will continue to work with the NYPD to make sure children are safe.
0:56:26
There are a lot of activities that have been embedded in children's center programming.
Althea Stevens
0:56:30
And I just wanna also point out, it's not just the children's center.
0:56:33
So what I'm hearing from young people in conversations that that is one of the known spots and not from children but providers, that they're outside children's centers, they're often outside, group homes.
0:56:43
Like, they know where to go and they're going there and doing recruitment and talking to the young people.
0:56:49
And so I'm a little disappointed that there's not, like, a concrete plan about how we are making sure that young people who are being targeted in these areas are we're able to keep them safe and really wanna hear what does this coordination look like between ACS and NYPD because this is something that, obviously, I'm hearing, so we can't pretend like this is not happening.
Mari Moss
0:57:13
Kit.
0:57:14
Okay.
UNKNOWN
0:57:17
I'm listening.
Althea Stevens
0:57:18
Go ahead.
0:57:18
Okay.
0:57:19
So was she sworn in?
UNKNOWN
0:57:20
I can stand.
0:57:23
Hi.
0:57:23
Do you affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
0:57:27
I do.
0:57:27
Thank you.
0:57:28
So good afternoon, Cheers.
0:57:29
Thank you so much.
0:57:30
Hello, Cheer Ayala.
0:57:34
My name is Winette Saunders.
0:57:35
I'm the 1st deputy commissioner at the at ACS and I over provide oversight at the Children's Center.
0:57:42
We work work very closely with precinct 13 and 17 to discuss all areas
Althea Stevens
0:57:49
of Figa, Georgia.
UNKNOWN
0:57:51
Oh.
0:57:51
Thank you, sir.
Althea Stevens
0:57:52
Thank you.
0:57:54
Thank you, sergeant of arms.
0:57:55
We appreciate that.
UNKNOWN
0:57:56
Thank you, sir.
0:57:58
So we work very closely with precinct 13 and 17 and Chief Komodo to really address any needs that we have the children center.
0:58:06
Whether it be crime, whether it be sex trafficking.
0:58:09
We report directly to them.
0:58:11
We meet monthly.
0:58:13
Our ICs talk to them very frequently on cases that need to be spoken to before that time frame comes up for our next meeting.
0:58:23
We have very close relationships with our NCO officers, Philip and Rhonda.
0:58:29
We we are very close in very close contact on a number of different issues including sex trafficking.
Althea Stevens
0:58:37
Placements?
0:58:37
Because I'm hearing that that's a hot spot and they're out there.
Sabine Chery
0:58:42
So when we hear about those hot spots, because we do cover all our residential care providers and we get that feedback, we work closely with our investigative consultants who go back to their, head who is, mister Faye, and we contact NYPD in those areas, the different precincts in those boroughs.
0:59:02
And then they do the patrol and go out, especially where our young girls group homes are
Tanesha Grant
0:59:08
Mhmm.
Sabine Chery
0:59:08
That are very prone to traffickers.
0:59:11
We have the precincts in the Bronx that are always patrolling and working closely with the provider agencies and they are there.
Carlos Ortiz
0:59:20
Yeah.
0:59:20
And just to let you know, under special victims, what we do also is to help out patrol.
0:59:24
We do roll call trainings, Kathleen, bears in in charge of that in regards to different things that they should be looking while while they're out there.
0:59:32
So we also pick, different situations, you know, let's say for instance, to to Maine hospital where, let's say, they may have a lot of, sexual violence victims that, you know, survivors that go to the hospital, we will train that patrol, like, in other words midnight saying, hey.
0:59:46
When you go to the hospital, these are things you gotta look for.
0:59:48
These are things you gotta look for.
0:59:49
So a lot of things that we do in special victims is we help our, our partners in patrol saying, hey.
0:59:55
You do have, you know, let's say, a shelter or or a foster area in the area, these are things you should be looking for while you're out there, you know, you know, in in coordination with everything else.
1:00:04
So we do speak to our own our counterparts and kinda give them ideas that we have to our human trafficking unit and and things like that.
1:00:10
So