As Santa Clara County prepares for a potential increase in human trafficking at major sporting events next year, security planning may be challenging with personnel stretched thin due to federal cuts.
The U.S. Department of Justice through the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) provides grant funding to combat human trafficking, but the monies expired last month. Applications to renew funding are not available presently. The grant covered funding for advocates, training for trauma-informed interviewing and overtime, hampers the county’s ability to fund operations during the sporting events, according to attorney Bryan Slater, who oversees human trafficking prosecutors in the District Attorney’s office.
“We do not currently have dedicated funding to cover overtime for investigations or extended operations that would be needed,” Slater said at the Santa Clara County Human Trafficking Commission meeting last month. “Our heavy reliance on this grant funding jeopardizes continuity of staffing … it creates a turnover at critical moments such as now.”
Santa Clara has two major sporting events happening in the first half of 2026, including Super Bowl 60 in February and FIFA World Cup starting in June at the Levi’s Stadium. In March, San Jose State University will host March Madness — the NCAA West Regional Men’s Basketball tournament at the SAP Center.
Sharan Dhanoa, director of South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking, is worried about officer burnout. There could also be a shortage of emergency housing for survivors as tourists fill up hotels. But she said the coalition is well-equipped with expertise on combating human trafficking, having coordinated services during the Super Bowl in 2016.
“Having three events brings challenges that I’m not sure any jurisdiction could be prepared for,” Dhanoa told San José Spotlight. “Our human trafficking protocol for law enforcement is very survivor informed. It really does prioritize connecting survivors to services. And so those are the things that I feel very good about.”
Though research is inconclusive on whether there is a rise of human trafficking incidents during major sporting events, Dhanoa said there is often a flood of advertisements for people selling sex.
“Our core messaging is that sporting events don’t cause trafficking, but economics drives exploitation,” Dhanoa said.
Josh Singleton, commander at the Santa Clara County Human Trafficking Task Force, said they have been rolling out training for law enforcement through written material and site training. They are also on the lookout for industries where labor exploitation is more likely to happen, such as hospitality.
“Our number one goal is to provide resources to victims of human trafficking,” Singleton told San José Spotlight.
On Oct. 1, the task force in partnership with the San Jose Police Department’s Special Victims Unit uncovered a trafficking operation at a hotel. They arrested three people, cited two sex buyers and connected six survivors with services, according to the police department spokesperson.
“In the months ahead, (the Special Victims Unit) will continue with targeted undercover operations against traffickers and sex buyers, increased monitoring of online exploitation, and close coordination with community-based advocates to ensure survivors receive immediate and long-term support,” the SJPD spokesperson told San José Spotlight. “On game day, rapid-response teams will remain on standby to respond to incidents in real time.”
With the San Jose police department having the highest vacancy rate since 2012, the spokesperson said they will reassign officers from other divisions to the special unit to tackle human trafficking. The police department has secured grant funding that will be unaffected by federal and state cuts to cover overtime and specialized training.
The Santa Clara Police Department is also working with the task force to prepare for the sporting events.
“We have a comprehensive public safety steering committee responsible for various planning areas, which includes a dedicated anti-trafficking sub-committee,” SCPD Lt. Eric Lagergren told San José Spotlight.
County officials are looking for ways to funnel more resources to organizations working to tackle human trafficking despite the tight budget, District 2 Supervisor Betty Duong, who sits on the Human Trafficking Commission, told San José Spotlight.
One of those ways is to get Measure A passed during the special elections this November, she said, which will help fund county-owned hospitals by temporarily increasing the general sales tax by 0.625%.
“We are at an inflection point right now where we are challenged budgetarily because of the impacts of H.R.1,” Duong told San José Spotlight. “But if we don’t fill that health system gap (through Measure A), we have to pull from (the general fund). So then now we have a smaller pot of money that we then have to stretch to cover both public safety and health.”
Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X.
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