My role in the anti-trafficking movement, managing the San Jose Police Department’s Human Trafficking Task Force , keeps me very busy with an abundance of tasks and responsibilities. Most people who meet me are surprised when they learn that I also have another role at the police department and that, in effect, I have two jobs. From 2006 – 2010 I was assigned to our Vice Unit where my primary responsibility involved supervising alcohol and entertainment licensing within the city. A year ago I was promoted, and assigned to manage our internal IT unit. (In one of the mysteries of my career, I get to manage wonderful folks who know quite a lot about IT while I, in fact, know very, very little.)
But from my first involvement with our anti-trafficking grant in the early months of 2006, I have really enjoyed the work! When I took over responsiblity for the task force program I began to push harder (with the help of other dedicated abolitionists). Building the program was like making a big snow ball; the more you push the bigger it grows, and as the workload increased I didn’t want to give up the work. I expanded our capabilities by creating a specific HT Investigator assignment, and was lucky when the best possible person applied for the opening. Officer Jenn Dotzler is amazing. Together, along with more help from others, we continued to grow our capabilities, develop new partnerships, and respond to every training request we received.
I’m committed to this work for the long haul. I continue to look for new ways to make an impact on behalf of slaves. My work, some of the most rewarding of my 24-years in law enforcement, is not always easy. There are some things I dislike about my work. But for today, I want to share 3 Things I Like!
1 – Being involved in a subject that is new to law enforcement. If you don’t work in law enforcement, you cannot appreciate how rarely something really, truly, new comes into the field. We get new equipment, we refine our skills, but to be given a role in a completely new area of response for law enforcement is extremely rare. And then to be given the freedom (by my chief officers) and money (grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice / Bureau of Justice Assistance) to create the program with a small dedicated team of professionals…well, that just never happens. What a unique opportunity!
2 – Working to free slaves. I was raised by parents who were proud of their country (they both served in the military during WWII) and the freedom America stands for. I was always expected to treat others with respect, especially those that were less fortunate than I. Like everyone else, I was appalled by what I learned when I began studying modern-day slavery. Freedom is the greatest gift a person can have. To have that freedom denied by traffickers is a moral outrage. Feeling like I’ve done something at work to free a slave, well, that’s a pretty good feeling.
3 – The people. I love the positive energy of committed abolitionists!
It is common knowledge that cynicism is a trait shared by every peace officer. It is a part of our culture, ingrained into us from the first day of employment. It keeps us safe, and sometimes it even keeps us alive. But when we don’t really need the benefits of our cynicism, it just makes us grouchy, pessimistic, and spending too much time complaining about how things never change.
The people I work with in the anti-trafficking community are fun. They bring a passion for justice, and the energy to match, to the everyday problems encountered in our fight against traffickers. They look for new, inventive ways to collaborate, dream up powerful ideas to monitor and examine supply chains, reduce demand for the services of slaves, and, generally, are out to save the world. What a noble idea.
Truth be told, most cops wanted to save the world when they entered police work. I did. But the cynicism starts to grow when you realize you really can’t save the world, and it can be terribly disappointing. What to do? Ask for help and you are often met with, you guessed it, more cynicism. I decided if I couldn’t save the world, I would save my world one victim at a time. That was manageable, and it allowed me to go home on occasion feeling like I’d had a good day at work.
But saving one slave at a time is too slow. So we need the energy and passion of the modern-day abolitionist. They bring intelligence, inquisitiveness, and a desire to understand why people treat so many others so badly. But they bring it with a smile, a laugh, a gleam in their eye when they dream up a new way to help the cause. These abolitionists are my friends and colleagues within government agencies, victim-service agencies, faith communities, and social entrepreneurs. These people believe they can change the world. And they make me think I can change the world, too.
And that is why I like them.
John
