October 04 2013
New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman delivered the following remarks at the Citizens Crime Commission on September 25, 2013, announcing the launch of New York's statewide Human Trafficking Intervention Initiative. In New York, human trafficking is largely dominated by the sex trade, and prostitutes are often victims of coercion, neglect, and abuse. Building on pilot programs operating in Queens, midtown Manhattan, and Nassau County that connect those arrested for prostitution to counseling and social services in lieu of jail-time, the New York judiciary's initiative represents a significant shift in the way prostitution is viewed by the justice system and communities.