CUSP created a comprehensive report based on the records received from the Anchorage Police Department. Read the Summary 2022 2023 APD Records Request

It’s difficult to quantify sex trafficking in any state. Different definitions are used in different studies. There is a difference between state laws and federal laws, and in Alaska prostitutes are often charged with sex trafficking (even though the attorney general says, “Prostitutes are really not criminals. They’re really victims.”)

According to the Ad Hoc NGO Working Group on Sex Trafficking in Alaska:

There have been six sex trafficking prosecutions since 2001. However, they include cases like the Crazy Horse case and the Mujahid case in which there were no charges pressed.

According to the Task Force On Human Trafficking, between 2007 and 2012:

27 people were charged with Sex Trafficking and 19 were convicted. Many were likely prostitutes or simply guilty of “facilitating” or communicating about prostitution.
86 people were charged with Prostitution under state law and 34 were convicted.
There were 745 Prostitution dispositions under Anchorage Municipal Code.
There were 167 Promoting Prostitution dispositions under Anchorage Municipal Code (promoting prostitution includes things like driving a prostitute or renting a room to a prostitute).

The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in New York City is one of the most thorough studies done on teenagers in the sex trade. It’s definitely worth reading if you are interested in this topic. A highlight is that 46 percent of youth were introduced to the sex trade by a friend, while only 16 percent were recruited by pimps. This is important, because in Alaska prevention strategies have centered around protecting youth from pimps rather than the much more common “push” factors that lead young people to the sex trade.