Uptick in prostitution and human trafficking feared at Superbowl LX

Last week, my family took a little pre-winter escape and stayed at a nice Hilton hotel. My wife and kids we're in the pool everyday, they loved it and didn't want to leave. I finally jumped in the pool the last day of our stay and it was nice, I'm a little harder to impress. The best hotel I ever stayed at wasn't where you would expect. I've stayed in Las Vegas and my first visit I stayed at the Tropicana and it was nice but believe it or not, Detroit had the nicest hotel by far. This is before I met my wife and I was there for the WWE Royal Rumble I forget which year, but I stayed at the MGM Grand and was upgraded to an executive suite which had a fire place and Jacuzzi spa. 

The reason I bring up my recent hotel stay is because no matter how nice the hotel may seem, inevitably I notice the dark reminder of the underworld dangers that are often in plain sight. Human trafficking signs aren't everywhere but they're noticeable. The 'if you see something say something' and call this 1-800 number on soap packages are the new reality. It's a positive in the fact that society is finally calling attention to something that's been going on since humanity existed but I don't remember even hearing or knowing about trafficking until a few years ago. No one wants to think about the horrors of what the young victims are going through but major events like the Superbowl maybe law enforcement's best shot at rescuing them.

When a major event comes to your city it can be a very profitable endeavor for the city and the event organizers. The bigger and more popular the event the more profit both sides make. It's also a win for the small business owners located near wherever the event is taking place as they'll benefit from visiting tourist. As positive as all of this sounds unfortunately there's a negative side to a large influx of visitors. The shady scumbag side of the city is also looking to make a profit from these events.

Human trafficking and prostitution arrest explode usually and this year the Santa Clara police aren't having any of it. Josh Singleton who is the commander of the Santa Clara County Human Trafficking Task Force said that they expect nearly 1.3 million visitors to the area for Superbowl 60. The majority of the tourist are coming to watch the game in bars and to score some merchandise and selfies. Levi's Stadium only holds about 68,000 people so Superbowl week is an event on its own. 

Some of the visitors are going to be looking for other kinds of 'entertainment' and that's who Singleton and the police want to stop. Singleton said, "Come have a good time at the Superbowl. Don't engage in commercial sex because we're out in force and we're enforcing the laws!" So far the task force has arrested a high number of sex workers and pimps...also a major uptick in Johns, the people who patronize the services. It is through these arrest that the trafficked are often rescued. It's crazy to think that during all of the festivities and celebrations and Superbowl parties, something sinister is going on...the game is tonight and tonight I'm rooting for law enforcement.