AGENDA REPORT
___________________________________________________________________________________
TO: FROM:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council Councilmember Charlene Wang DATE: September 10, 2026
SUBJECT: Receive an Informational Report from the City Administration as Required in Section 5 of Ordinance 13873 as it applies to Law Enforcement Activity, Prosecutorial Outcomes, Fiscal Outcomes, and Community Impact & Equity Review
___________________________________________________________________________________ RECOMMENDATION:
Councilmember and Public Safety Committee Chair Charlene Wang recommend that the City Council receive and file Receive an Informational Report from the City Administration as Required Section 5 of Ordinance 13873 as it applies to Law Enforcement Activity, Prosecutorial Outcomes, Fiscal Outcomes, and Community Impact & Equity Review
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This report outlines the mandatory reporting requirements established by the recent ordinance amending Oakland Municipal Code 9.08.260. To ensure transparency, accountability, and the equitable application of the ordinance, the City Administrator is required to submit a written informational report to the City Council every six months, beginning in August 2026. The mandated reports are to provide ongoing data regarding law enforcement activities, prosecutorial outcomes, financial tracking, and community impacts related to the city's efforts to combat sex trafficking
BACKGROUND:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has designated the San Francisco Bay Area as a High- Intensity Child Prostitution Area (HICPA), representing a local crisis with severe impacts on Oakland's neighborhoods, particularly along the International Boulevard corridor. To address this crisis and align local laws with recent state legislation (which repealed the offense of loitering for the purpose of purchasing prostitution), the City Council updated the municipal code to focus enforcement on sex purchasers, traffickers, and nuisance properties rather than victims.
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS:
According to Section 5 in Ordinance 13873, the City Administrator must submit a written informational report to the City Council every six months (starting August 2026) containing the following mandatory information:
• Law Enforcement Activity: The total number of arrests and citations issued for loitering to purchase commercial sex, engaging in sex purchasing, sex trafficking, and maintaining places of prostitution. It must also document geographic and demand trends in the solicitation of commercial sex, as well as trends in calls for service and complaints. • Prosecutorial Outcomes: The number of arrests referred to the District Attorney and the resulting criminal charges filed. This section must include a comprehensive demographic breakdown of every individual arrested or cited, categorized by race/ethnicity, gender identity, age, and home city. • Fiscal Transparency: The total dollar amount of fines assessed, the amount successfully collected and deposited into the Human Trafficking Survivor Support Fund, and the total amount currently uncollected or in arrears. This section must also detail how the fund is being used and the associated outcome metrics.
• Community Impact & Equity Review: A holistic assessment to determine whether enforcement and funding allocations are effectively advancing the stated goals of survivor protection and community safety, while identifying any unintended consequences or disparities that may require future policy adjustments
RACIAL AND EQUITY IMPACT:
The ordinance acknowledges severe historical structural inequities in Oakland, noting that Black women and girls represent more than 60% of recovered sex trafficking victims locally, despite making up only about 20% of the city's population. Furthermore, socioeconomic stressors make diverse neighborhoods like Little Saigon, San Antonio, and Fruitvale prime targets for predatory exploitation fueled largely by sex buyers traveling from outside these communities.
To safeguard against exacerbating these inequities, the mandatory reporting section requires a holistic "Community Impact & Equity Review" to ensure enforcement and funding are advancing survivor protection without creating unintended consequences or disparities.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The ordinance allows the City to assess administrative fines against sex purchasers (up to $4,000 for a first offense), sex traffickers (up to $10,000 for a first offense), and nuisance property owners (up to $2,500 per day). These fines are tripled if a minor is involved. All collected administrative fines and penalties are directed into the newly created Human Trafficking Survivor Support Fund, which finances victim assistance (such as emergency housing and mental health services), education, street outreach, and workforce development.
CONCLUSION:
The mandated bi-annual reporting serves as a critical oversight mechanism to evaluate the ordinance's success. By rigorously tracking law enforcement activity, prosecutorial outcomes, fiscal accountability, and community equity impacts, the City Council can ensure the legislation fulfills its primary goals:
deterring exploitation, supporting human trafficking survivors, and restoring safety to Oakland's neighborhoods.
Prepared by: Bridget Ruiz Rivezzo, Policy Director for Councilmember Charlene Wang District 2 contact: [email protected]