Chief Nisleit said the bill makes it much harder for officers to arrest people for human trafficking. He also talked about resources for those impacted by trafficking. Senator Scott Weiner is the author of the bill. His office gave CBS 8 a statement saying, “With all respect to the Chief and District Attorney, their claims about SB 357 are simply false. Sex trafficking has been a huge problem in California for many years — long before SB 357 went into effect a mere 53 days ago. And data show that for years before SB 357 went into effect, ‘loitering with intent to commit prostitution’ made up a very small percentage of SDPD’s enforcement against the sex trade. “It’s highly inaccurate to claim SB 357 — which was supported by California’s leading anti-trafficking organization — somehow deprived police of a tool to fight human trafficking. It did no such thing. Indeed, San Diego police and their partners just conducted a highly effective anti-trafficking operation — rescuing victims and arresting abusers — and clearly didn’t need a discriminatory loitering law to do so. “The fundamental truth remains that giving sex workers or trafficking victim an arrest record is a bad strategy and makes it harder for these folks to get back on their feet. I stand by SB 357, despite the misrepresentations being spread about it.”