Phoenix Human Trafficking Task Force New Subcommittee

Phoenix AZ

08 December, 2021

1:16 AM

Description

The Phoenix Human Trafficking Task Force created a new subcommittee devoted to drafting a proposal to alter Arizona's vacatur law and the nature in which a prosecution charge remains on the record of anyone involved in human trafficking, including victims. Nearly half of their last meeting was devoted to discussion about criminal records and the effects of having a sex-related crime on record. The committee is chaired by Councilman Jim Waring, who directed the meeting and often summed up points throughout. It was at Waring's recommendation that the subcommittee be created. This new group was set to be chaired by Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, Director of the Arizona State University Sex Trafficking Intervention Research Office and a Task Force member, according to Strategic Initiative Manager Sergio Gomez. As a vocal member of the group, Roe-Sepowitz spearheaded much of the conversation regarding criminal records. She explained the current situation many survivors are in. "In the city of Phoenix, if you sign up for diversion, you sign a guilty plea. When you complete diversion, [the plea] is dismissed. It does not get removed from your criminal record. It is the same for the solicitors, the purchasers of sex," Roe-Sepowitz said. Although the committee members seemed eager to create this new subcommittee designed to work out the issues of the current statute, an official meeting has not been held. The statute that was developed to create the diversion and the plea agreement was created in 1997 and has not been changed in 23 years. "I think the basic, underlying premise is that people are having a tougher time getting a job because they're having to answer these questions. I think a lot of people have changed their notions about how they look at a prostitution charge, who's at fault, who should be blamed," Waring said. In the past year, two new laws have been passed. One states that landlords and employers may not use the information on criminal histories to make their decisions. The other improves victims' ability to access their records and get information. According to Roe-Sepowitz, the only option right now is to get a "set-aside," which allows them to get a fingerprint clearance card. This allows people to work in communities they wouldn't have been able to work in if they didn't have a fingerprint clearance card. Roe-Sepowitz said these new laws "will not solve any of the challenges" survivors are currently facing. "What we're looking for is some sort of vacatur option; an idea and a way to help people that have criminal histories either not get criminal histories or vacating historical charges because of victimization," Roe-Sepowitz said. There is a third law that was passed in the last few years that has the possibility of having this effect. However, the law requires "clear and convincing evidence" that the person was being trafficked and an eight-year waiting period. Roe-Sepowitz said she thought "clear and convincing" was out of reach for many survivors. "The vacatur law that we have on the books at the state level is not helping our clients at all. If we help them get rid of that charge right when they finish [diversion], their opportunities are much greater than if we wait 6 months, a year, 8 years," Roe-Sepowitz said. "What we're doing is saying 'go fly, go get a job, go pull your life together, but you can't because you have a sex-related crime on your record.' I think there has to be something better than what we're doing right now."