ENDING HUMAN TRAFFICKING: Assistant District Attorney of Alameda County Sharmin Bock

Sharmin Bock is a 31-year veteran prosecutor, and a nationally recognized expert in human trafficking. Bock has a long and successful track record for identifying and recovering commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC); creating collaborative multi-disciplinary programs that link CSEC to specialized services ensuring they heal and thrive; and holding their traffickers and purchasers accountable to the full extent of the law. 

In 2005, Bock helped create the Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Unit, the first of its kind response in the country, a victim-centered, trauma-informed, vertical prosecution unit composed of specially trained prosecutors, investigators, and victim witness advocates, who work closely with state and federal law enforcement partners as well as non-governmental organizations, to rescue victims and prosecute their exploiters. Bock currently serves as HEAT Unit Team Leader. Bock also oversees the HEAT Response for the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office (ACDAO), including the HEAT Watch Program, a 5-point, award-winning strategy created by the ACDAO to combat HEAT in all its forms and designed to be easily replicated in other jurisdictions.   

Bock has educated and influenced state and federal law enforcement, advocates, policy makers, and funders, across the country about the crime and impact of child sex trafficking. Legislators in Georgia and Hawaii, as well as in the United States House of Representatives and Senate, have invited Bock to testify to help improve laws nationwide. With far reaching consequence, Bock co-authored Proposition 35, an initiative on California’s November 2012 Ballot, which passed by a landslide margin and gave California the toughest anti-human trafficking law in the country. 

This is a Commitee Meeting of The Rotary Club of San Francisco, open to all Rotarians, visiting Rotarians, prospective members, and guests. The meeting is free, but you must register here to get the link.