Oakland’s City Council voted Tuesday to begin a pilot program to disrupt sex work in a section of East Oakland known as “The Blade.”
In a 6-1-1 vote, with Councilmember Kevin Jenkins abstaining and Councilmember Janani Ramachandran absent for the vote, the pilot program proposed by Councilmember Charlene Wang will install barricades to temporarily close through traffic on Ninth, 10th and 11th avenues between International Boulevard and 15th Street for six months in an effort to curb sex trafficking on these side streets and funnel it onto International Boulevard.
The idea of moving illegal activity to a busier corridor may seem counterintuitive, but to Wang, it would still be a step in the right direction.
“This is part of a larger multi-pronged strategy,” Wang said at the meeting. “The first prong being enforcement against the traffickers, the Johns … and this is part of that, which is crime prevention through environmental design.”
Wang argued that side streets create concealed areas that makes it more challenging for police officers to see transactions occurring. By funneling them onto International Boulevard, Wang’s hope is that officers will be able to increase arrests and provide deterrence for any activity to occur in the first place.
Oakland has had some history with road closures to prevent sex work on certain intersections. Barricades were installed on intersecting side streets off another main drag, East 15th Street, in 2023. While it did reduce cited actions at those intersections, Oakland Police Department crime data suggests activity simply moved down to its present location.
“I don’t want to promise the moon,” Wang said. “I don’t think this is going to end human trafficking, but I think it is worth trying.”
Making the problem someone else’s?
While most of the City Council applauded Wang’s efforts, some were concerned about how this may only move the problem, affecting local businesses and residents in the process.
Councilmember Noel Gallo voiced the strongest criticism of the proposal, noting his belief that this will just push the problem somewhere else. He called on the Oakland Police Department to step up enforcement.
“This is a problem that Oakland has, we just talk, talk, talk a lot and move the problem around when it comes to human trafficking and prostitution,” Gallo said. “We talk a lot, we complain a lot, but putting barriers on the street is not going to solve it.”
Wang responded by asking Gallo to help her get other law enforcement agencies involved, noting that she had tried to contact the Alameda County Sherrif’s Office, the FBI, and the California Highway Patrol for assistance, but none have been willing to help. She then called on all her colleagues to ask these departments for help.
“This is a problem that Oakland has, we just talk, talk, talk a lot and move the problem around when it comes to human trafficking and prostitution. We talk a lot, we complain a lot, but putting barriers on the street is not going to solve it.”
Councilmember Noel Gallo
Councilmember Carroll Fife added that while she doesn’t see this pilot as a solution, she respected the work to find solutions and ultimately voted to support it.
Members of the public who spoke during the comment period echoed Fife’s sentiment but agreed that something needed to be done.
Leonor Godinez, a resident and member of the San Antonio Neighborhood Coalition, a grassroots group that organizes and participates in community actions against sex trafficking, said she was part of the previous barricade effort and knew the problem would just move elsewhere. She encouraged the City Council to do more to address the root causes of the issue.
“Until this body comes up with a solution for the overall city, this is just a band-aid, but it’s a band-aid I think that’s needed,” Godinez said.
Wang added that she was sympathetic to all concerns and said she looked forward to seeing the results of the pilot.
