California ranks 3rd in the United States* in 2018 for the number of active criminal human trafficking cases making their way through federal courts. The state had 47 active cases. The federal government initiated 10 of the active criminal cases in California in 2018, ranking California 5th in the United States for the number of new criminal human trafficking cases. In 2018, federal courts convicted 42 defendants in criminal human trafficking cases, ranking California 2nd in the nation for the number of defendants convicted. Federal courts ordered six defendants to pay restitution to their victim(s).
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Previous California State Summary Reports
2017 California State Summary Report
*Each State Summary’s findings derived from data the Human Trafficking Institute compiled for the 2018 Federal Human Trafficking Report. Findings are not a prevalence estimate of trafficking in the state but instead serve as an objective summary of federal efforts to address human trafficking in that state. The Report does not capture data from state prosecutions, state civil suits, or unreported human trafficking cases.