413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

Most of the gang members involved in the UCSE are young (often the same age as the girls they recruit to
work for them), lack a formal education, and come from disadvantaged backgrounds. One local
prosecutor discussed a common scenario among these young men:
I think that many of them come from horrendous situations themselves and I often
wonder whether we are dealing with a gang situation. There is an aspect of humanity to
most people that we deal with, even the worst of the worst as far as criminals go.
Especially when I was working in gangs and you would see where these little kids grew up
and you’d wonder, “Well, how can we expect anything of these children when dad’s been
in prison their whole life, mom isn’t supportive, all older family members are in gangs,
they have poverty, they have no respect or desire for an education, and they have no
expectation of living a normal life because everyone around them is being shot and they
have lost so many friends at a very young age” How do we expect that person to grow up
and be a productive member of society (Seattle Prosecutor)
Despite the hardships that these young men may have faced growing up, they often look for opportunities
that present a low risk but a high return. This used to explain their involvement in narcotic sales and drug
trafficking; however, mandatory sentencing laws for drug sales and possession made selling drugs too
risky. As one local law enforcement official noted, “There’s an old saying that physical evidence can’t lie
for ya, but the girls can.” Additionally, as stakeholders in all eight sites have stated, unlike drugs, humans
are a renewable resource:
A lot of these gang members are getting into the commercial exploitation of children
because it is very low risk very high return. If I catch a gang member with guns or money
on him, you can’t explain that away. Or even if it’s in the car, you can’t say well this is in
the car, or jeez that’s not mine, but even if I can’t tie into the drugs or the dope to them, I
am seizing that, and it’s mine and they are out money. But people, women, children, they
are a reusable commodity. And most of these girls, they’ve got them so brainwashed, they
say, “Hey, this is just a friend of mine. I’m taking her down to her cousin’s house” and the
girl confirms it. And if she says, “Yeah, he is pimping me out,” 97 percent they go back to
that person. It’s kind of like that battered women thing, and even if they don’t go back,
he’ll find another girl, so it’s just a cycle. (Seattle Law Enforcement Official)
Similar to the hybrid gangs in San Diego, many local crews in Seattle will set aside turf wars and work
together to maximize their profits. One gang unit officer referred to this phenomenon as
“ambigangsterous.” Gang members will send the women and girls that work for them to other cities and
allow other pimps to work them:
But with regard to gangs, yeah, we see a lot of gangs, whether it’s an upper tier or a lower
tier they are working together not only within the gang and assisting each other for the
benefit of the gang and each other, but we also see them working with other gangs during
peacetime. A lot of these guys, during peacetime, they’ll mingle and they’ll associate. As
one gang unit sergeant put it, they’re “ambigangsterous” when they have to be to benefit
each other and the gangs. If it is dry in Seattle I might communicate with somebody in
Portland who is also a pimp and be invited down there to work my gal. I’ll turn my gal out
on the street with your gal in Portland and in return, I might show you the same courtesy
when you’re in my town or when I am in Portland I might share my earnings with you.
It’s like a commission. (Seattle Law Enforcement Official)
Pimps in Seattle typically have two to three girls working for them and often enforce a daily quota. This
daily quota ranges from $500 to $800 and will often be increased to $1,000 or $1,500 as a form of
punishment if a worker is caught not following the rules. Law enforcement noted that if sex workers do
not make daily quota, they will most likely be physically abused and in some cases, tortured.
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