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THE VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL<br />
<strong>22</strong> www.TheValleyBusinessJournal.com<br />
<strong>October</strong> 20<strong>22</strong><br />
MURRIETA POLICE DEPARTMENT RECEIVES NIBRS<br />
CERTIFICATION<br />
Prostitution and Anti-Human<br />
Trafficking Operation<br />
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1<br />
In 2016, the Federal Bureau<br />
of Investigation (FBI) informed<br />
all states they were changing how<br />
crime statistics were being tracked<br />
and gave them five years to transition<br />
from Uniform Crime Reporting<br />
(UCR) to the new NIBRS standard.<br />
In 2021, the Murrieta Police Department<br />
began submitting NIBRS<br />
data and after 16 months of arduous<br />
testing and troubleshooting, was<br />
finally recognized as an official<br />
NIBRS agency.<br />
The Murrieta Police Department<br />
was able to secure a grant to<br />
help fund the transition and relieve<br />
taxpayers of the burden in paying<br />
for the costly upgrade through the<br />
Federal Office of Justice Programs.<br />
Throughout this process, Murrieta<br />
PD has met grant benchmarks and<br />
once final payment is approved,<br />
will have received $48,807 back<br />
from the Federal government for<br />
the NIBRS implementation project.<br />
As one of the safest cities in the<br />
country, Murrieta prides itself on<br />
their FBI crime statistics each year.<br />
After publication, those statistics<br />
are then reviewed and tallied by<br />
a variety of entities, which in turn<br />
rank each city. Some rankings look<br />
at violent crime, while others consider<br />
the cost of crime, and some<br />
focus on property crime, among<br />
other metrics. The FBI doesn’t<br />
necessarily rank cities, but rather<br />
they supply the data that is used to<br />
rank cities making these ranking a<br />
moving target each year.<br />
Murrieta Police Chief Anthony<br />
Conrad recognizes that this new<br />
method of tracking crime statistics<br />
via NIBRS is going to look different<br />
than it did under the UCR<br />
guidelines. As of 20<strong>22</strong>, UCR data<br />
will no longer be recognized by the<br />
FBI and many cities and counties<br />
will not have FBI statistics in place<br />
to support crime rankings for their<br />
jurisdictions.<br />
To address the potential perception<br />
that an agency has a higher<br />
crime level with this new system,<br />
NIBRS has established a baseline<br />
that more precisely captures reported<br />
crime in a community. Other<br />
cities may not conform to this<br />
new required standard for years to<br />
come, yet Murrieta will continue to<br />
have FBI-approved crime rankings.<br />
“<br />
As one of the safest<br />
cities in the country,<br />
Murrieta prides itself<br />
on their FBI crime<br />
statistics each year<br />
On Tuesday, September 13, 20<strong>22</strong>, the<br />
Murrieta Police Department, in partnership<br />
with the Riverside County Anti-Human<br />
Trafficking Taskforce (RCAHT),<br />
conducted a proactive enforcement operation<br />
that targeted <strong>online</strong> prostitution and<br />
those whose demand for these unlawful<br />
activities fuels an illicit underground<br />
economy, both locally as well as across<br />
the State of California.<br />
As a result of this enforcement effort,<br />
a total of twelve males were arrested for<br />
solicitation of prostitution. One male was<br />
arrested for pimping per section 266h<br />
of the California Penal Code. Murrieta<br />
PD also contacted one adult female who<br />
was believed to be the victim of human<br />
trafficking and possibly being forced to<br />
engage in acts of prostitution against<br />
her will.<br />
The identity of this victim will not be<br />
released pursuant to state confidentiality<br />
laws. The victim was referred to victim<br />
services for assistance while the investigation<br />
into her sex trafficking continues.<br />
Prostitution is not a “victimless”<br />
crime. Ninety-five percent of sex trafficking<br />
victims are women or children.<br />
Those victimized by commercial sexual<br />
exploitation frequently have long histories<br />
of emotional, physical, and/or sexual<br />
abuse or trauma. The National Center<br />
for Missing and Exploited Children<br />
estimates 1 in 6 endangered runaways<br />
reported are likely victims of sex trafficking.<br />
Sex trafficking victims are often<br />
subjected not only to severe forms of<br />
emotional, physical, and sexual abuse<br />
at the hands of their trafficker, but are<br />
also frequently physically and sexually<br />
assaulted by those who solicit them for<br />
prostitution.<br />
Through proactive enforcement operations,<br />
RCAHT and the Murrieta Police<br />
Department are working to reduce future<br />
demand for sex trafficking by identifying<br />
and arresting sex buyers.<br />
Anyone with information about sex trafficking<br />
or questions are encouraged to<br />
contact Sergeant Roy Vargas or Corporal<br />
James Tompkins at (951) 696-3615.