How to Uncover Human Trafficking in Your Home Town

Posted on June 18th, 2008 by Kathleen Davis

Human trafficking in the United States is receiving more national attention from federal prosecutors, local law enforcement agencies, social service workers and the general public. As many as 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year, according to government data. Yet skeptics continue to challenge the extent of trafficking, arguing that the actual number of reported incidents reflects a relatively minor problem. Judges and law enforcement officials, especially at the local level, are often among the doubters. Many still perceive human trafficking as an international issue that is rare or nonexistent in their communities.

Which raises an interesting question: if more police officers and judges were trained in understanding the many ways in which human trafficking plays out, what would the result be? Would cities and towns finally begin to realize that trafficking in human beings is a real – and growing – menace everywhere?

One thing for sure: the role of local police — detectives, the cop on the beat – is pivotal in uncovering human trafficking crimes. Local law enforcement is often in the best position to identify victims because of their close ties to communities, because they are first to respond to crisis situations, and because, while investigating other crimes (e.g. drug raids, money laundering, domestic violence, prostitution rings) they may be dealing with a trafficking situation. But if they don’t know what to look for, their lack of awareness or training may inhibit arrests for trafficking-related offenses. In Ohio, for example, there is limited law enforcement training and no protocols on the local level for human trafficking, yet victims have been identified throughout Ohio.

A new study from Northeastern University pinpoints this issue in stark terms. The report, Understanding and Improving Law Enforcement Responses to Human Trafficking , highlights problems preventing local law enforcement agencies from identifying, investigating, and ultimately helping resolve trafficking crimes. The report indicates that only about 18 percent of local law enforcement personnel nationally have received anti-trafficking training, while an even smaller 9 percent of police agencies have established protocols or policies to address identified cases. Less than a handful of local law enforcement agencies — 4 percent — have organized internal task forces or until to focus on human trafficking.

This underwhelming response comes despite the fact that these same law enforcement agencies, no matter their size, also indicated they have investigated at least one human trafficking case, the Northeastern study points out. In fact, human trafficking investigations at the local level have mushroomed from 175 in 2000 to 750 in 2006.

What’s to be done? We offer some tips below, but for starters, more people need to be trained in understanding what human trafficking is and how to discern its presence in the community.

That’s what we’ve begun doing through the Freedom Center’s Partnership for Human Freedom, which is engaged in raising public awareness and education about slavery today. Among the steps we’ve taken since January: providing trafficking training for more than 2000 people in law enforcement, medical and social service, attorneys and others, and helping draft new curricula on trafficking for the Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy (OPOTA). These efforts are done in conjunction with local and national partners, such as the Cincinnati Rescue & Restore coalition.

Clearly, increased awareness and training among local law enforcement is essential in addressing human trafficking within local communities. If we as a nation are serious about clamping down on slavery in today’s society, then the very first step lies in training police to spot potential victims – and the evil-doers who attempt to buy, sell and trade human beings.

What can you do to help fight trafficking? Here are some ideas:

Contact your local political leaders and local law enforcement and ask whether they are familiar with human trafficking and whether they have protocols/policy to address identified cases;
If there is limited knowledge and no protocols, advise them to contact federal authorities (e.g. Department of Justice, Health & Human Services, Department of Homeland Security) and/or nongovernmental organizations (e.g. Freedom Center, Polaris Project, Shared Hope International) for human trafficking training;
Request and/or support state level anti-trafficking legislation to combat human trafficking in your state.
Return often to the freedom center website, www.freedomcenter.org , for updated information.

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