California has been identified by the FBI as one of the top four destinations in the country for human trafficking.
"It's definitely still an issue," said Megan Rheinschild, Santa Barbara County Victim Witness Assistance Program Director.
Rheinschild also oversees the county’s anti-human trafficking task force, which started in 2016. From then until June of 2024, Santa Barbara County had 278 human trafficking investigations. The district attorney’s office is currently handling 10 active investigations.
“Law enforcement has become skilled at identifying, fighting traffickers," Rheinschild said.
One of the ways law enforcement has been proactive is through the non-profit DeliverFund, which has the largest analyst-curated human trafficking database ever. That technology is available to agencies across the country, including San Luis Obispo County and Santa Barbara County.
DeliverFund Chief of Operations Shane Erickson explained that there is a 100-percent conviction rate in all of the human trafficking cases that DeliverFund has been a part of. However, the work is far from finished.
“I have found and what I've seen over time in California is that as much effort as we're putting in and as good as we are, right, and as much success as the DA's office, sheriff's office and PD have had, it's still a prominent problem," Erickson said.
However, DeliverFund and law enforcement are more equipped than ever to address the problem.
“We have to understand what the problem is, where they advertise and then how to really attack that problem," Erickson said.
Meanwhile, Rheinschild says Santa Barbara County is also focused on shelter services for victims as well as education and outreach to schools and medical providers on how to spot a potential human trafficking situation. Despite more arrests through greater technology and resources dedicated to the issue, she predicts the problem will persist.
“I would hope that someday we can get there where we say it's not an issue anymore. I don't predict that," she stated.
Because of the current three-defendant human trafficking trial underway at the San Luis Obispo County courthouse, District Attorney Dan Dow told KSBY his office can’t comment on the case or any general information on human trafficking in the county until jurors have returned with verdicts. The trial is on a break until Monday afternoon and is expected to last into at least mid-July.
WATCH: Unique SLO County human trafficking case featuring multiple juries gets underway
If you see any suspicious activity that could be human trafficking-related, you can call local law enforcement or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888.
