As a former member of the LAAPOA Board of Directors who currently serves on the LAAPOA Women’s Conference Planning Committee, Los Angeles Airport Police Detective Ruth Delgado has long been a leader in her profession, committed to distinguishing herself in her career, working to support and uplift fellow law enforcement officers, and protecting society’s most vulnerable members. In 2021, she became the first LAXPD detective to join the Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force (HTTF), the largest co-located task force in the nation. Led by the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, the nonprofit Saving Innocence, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, in partnership with about a dozen federal, state, county and city agencies and nearly 30 non-government-based community organizations, the initiative works to increase early identification of human trafficking victims, address their needs by providing comprehensive services, and strengthen investigation and prosecution of these crimes.
Earlier this year, Delgado was recognized as Officer of the Year by Westchester Elks Lodge #2050 for her exemplary contributions to public safety in the LAX area and all of L.A. County through her work on the task force. Here, she shares her reaction to this honor, insights on her role and gratitude for the colleagues who’ve aided her success.
What was your reaction to receiving this award?
When I found out I was nominated by my supervision for the award, I was very proud that although I am on a task force, they were still very aware of all the work we do. When I found out I was chosen as the recipient, I was very humbled. We have several task forces and our Crime Task Force (CTF) detectives are all extraordinary detectives with outstanding cases, so I felt very humbled to be the one to receive an award.
What led you to becoming a member of the L.A. Regional Human Trafficking Task Force?
I am the first LAXPD detective to serve on the HTTF, and it’s my proudest career accomplishment to date. I have been on the task force for five years. I became a CTF detective in 2014 and did a loan to LAPD’s Pacific Detectives, working the Major Assault Crimes table, which mostly dealt with domestic violence cases. I really enjoyed working those cases and helping victims empower themselves to speak up against their aggressor. When the human trafficking detective position opened up, I knew that would be a great career opportunity.
What is your work with the task force like?
As an HTTF detective, I handle cases in all of L.A. County that involve sex or labor trafficking. We deal with adult and underage commercial sex workers, with our main goal being to get them the resources they need to escape a very dark and violent world. We deal with illicit massage parlors, which usually have labor trafficking victims. We also work undercover to arrest traffickers and pedophiles who are online looking for vulnerable victims. But our primary focus is to find and rescue underage victims being trafficked in L.A. County. I love the satisfaction of helping someone escape “the life,” even if just temporarily, to show them that they can leave once they are ready.
What has contributed to your success?
Some of the cases can be very difficult to navigate. What I enjoy most is the team I work with; I couldn’t do it without them! Recently, with the FIFA World Cup in Los Angeles, we had weeks of long shifts with preventative operations in high-trafficking areas. We had more victim rescues and suspect arrests than many other similar-size counties with human trafficking problems. It’s all due to the camaraderie and work ethic we all share on the task force.