- COPS Office Photo Contest – January Winner
        - Human Trafficking Prevention Month
        - Spotlight on Japan: Social Systems Security – A Combination of People and Science (Part I)
        - Roundup of the Cops and Robbers Symposium
        - Healing Communities – From Resources to Technical Assistance

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### Recognizing National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month

Every January in the United States, we recognize  National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Although there is a  formal recognition once a year, human trafficking is happening all the time,  and year round, government agencies, nonprofits, law enforcement agencies,  community organizations, and other stakeholders are working to eradicate  trafficking in persons both domestically and internationally. The Federal Government  focuses on four efforts—prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships—for  the approach to combat trafficking in persons. All four efforts are critical  and happen simultaneously across the country.

*Definitions  and Misconceptions*

     Awareness is the first piece for understanding the  situation. 

     Under the Trafficking  Victims Protection Act (referred to as the TVPA) and consistent with the United  Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,  Especially Women and Children (referred to as the Palermo Protocol),  individuals may be trafficking victims regardless of whether they once  consented, participated in a crime as a direct result of being trafficked, were  transported into the exploitative situation, or were simply born into a state  of servitude.1

     A common misconception is that human trafficking  involves movement across borders. Human trafficking does not require movement  across borders, county lines, or even building perimeters. Also, human  trafficking is not only an international issue but also something that happens  within the borders of the United States.

     Another misunderstanding is the difference between  human trafficking and human smuggling. “Human smuggling is the importation of  people into a country via the deliberate evasion of immigration laws.”2 A  fee is typically required in advance for human smuggling; human trafficking  involves force, fraud, or coercion or a victim under the age of 18 years of  age. An individual may agree to be smuggled into a country, but ultimately that  individual can be forced into trafficking. Overall, “despite a term that seems  to connote movement, at the heart of the phenomenon of trafficking in persons  are the many forms of enslavement, not the activities involved in international  transportation.”3

     Human trafficking can manifest into different forms  and an individual may be a victim of more than one type. The two umbrella terms  are sex and labor trafficking; however, there are numerous distinctions based  on the situation. Sex trafficking****means  the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person  for the purpose of a commercial sex act.4In  addition, any victim that is a minor under the age of 18 years is a victim of  sex trafficking, regardless of whether or not force, fraud, or coercion is used;  labor trafficking occurs when a person uses violence, threats, lies, debt  bondage, or other forms of coercion to force people to work against their will.5

*Victims  and Traffickers*

     Victims of trafficking do not always present as  victims. Because of the techniques and tactics used by their traffickers,  previous victimization, and history, victims may not trust law enforcement or  seek out their help. Victims can be any demographic or come from anywhere:  women, men, LGBTQ, adults, children, U.S. citizens, or foreign nationals.  However, there are some vulnerabilities that lead to a higher susceptibility  for victimization including being a runaway or homeless or prior victimization,  especially sexual assault.

     Traffickers will “represent every social, ethnic,  and racial group,” and they are both male and female.6 Traffickers can be strangers, acquaintances, and even family members. Traffickers  use whatever techniques they can to control their victims including violence, manipulation,  coercion, isolation, and threats.7

*Prevalence  and Data*

     The prevalence of human trafficking is difficult to  estimate; however, several statistics have been compiled by numerous  organizations:
        - In 2012, the International Labor  Organization (ILO) estimated that there were 20.9 million victims of human  trafficking globally. 8
        - The ILO estimated that forced labor and  human trafficking is a $150 billion industry worldwide. 9
        - Specifically, the Urban Institute  estimated that the underground sex economy ranged from $39.9 million in Denver,  Colorado, to $290 million in Atlanta, Georgia. 10
        - In another Urban Institute study,71  percent of the labor trafficking victims in the study entered the United States  on lawful visas. 11
        - According to the National Center for Missing  and Exploited Children in 2014, 1 in 6 endangered runaways were likely sex  trafficking victims, an increase from 1 in 7 in 2013. 12  Sixty-eight percent of those sex trafficking victims were in the care of social  services or foster care when they ran. 13

*What  can I do?*

     This article doesn’t even begin to delve into human  trafficking, so it is important to have a firm grasp on what human trafficking  is. Learn the indicators and participate in training. If you are law  enforcement, order the *Child Sex Trafficking: A Training  Series for Frontline Officers*. Use this training,  the associated videos, and the discussion guide to educate your agency about  the signs, indicators, and scenarios. Use the fact sheets, tip card, and poster  as tools to further your understanding and as reference points. The U.S.  Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance and Office of Victims of  Crime also fund a wide variety of human trafficking training. These trainings  are provided by the Upper  Midwest Community Policing Institute.

     Learn who your local contacts are and become  familiar with the National  Human Trafficking Resource Center at 888-373-7888. This  24/7 resource and referral center not only provides information about human  trafficking but can also provide referral services or allow you to report a  tip.

     Know about resources for your agency and community;  you don’t have to reinvent the wheel or learn everything on human trafficking. The  Trafficking Resource Center maintains a list  of federal anti-trafficking efforts. 

     Finally, another law enforcement tool will be  available in the coming weeks from the COPS Office and the International  Association of Chiefs of Police:*Combating Child Sex Trafficking: A guide for law enforcement leaders*. This  guide aims to help law enforcement leaders adopt effective multidisciplinary  approaches to address child sex trafficking and provides tips on training,  identifying resources, and engaging communities. 

Nazmia E.A. Comrie      Edtior-in-Chief  and Senior Science Analyst The COPS Office

----

1“What is Modern Slavery?” U.S. Department of State, accessed December 15, 2015, http://www.state.gov/j/tip/what/index.htm.

2 “Human Smuggling,” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, accessed December  15, 2015, https://www.ice.gov/human-smuggling.

3“What is Modern Slavery?” (see note i).

4 Victims  of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-195, 114  Stat. 1464, http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/10492.pdf.

5 “Labor  Trafficking,” Polaris, accessed December 17, 2015, http://polarisproject.org/labor-trafficking.

6*Child Sex Trafficking: A Training Series for  Frontline Officers* (Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing  Services, 2015), http://ric-zai-inc.com/ric.php?page=detail&id=COPS-P318.

7 Ibid.

8 “New ILO Global Estimate of Forced Labour: 20.9 Million Victims,” International  Labour Organization, last modified June 1, 2012, http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_182109/lang--en/index.htm.

9 “ILO  Says Forced Labour Generates Annual Profits of US$150 Billion,” International  Labour Organization, last modified May 20, 2014, http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_243201/lang--en/index.htm.

10 Meredith  Dank et al., “Estimating the Size and Structure of the Underground Commercial  Sex Economy in Eight Major U.S. Cities,” Urban Institute, last modified March  12, 2014, http://www.urban.org/research/publication/estimating-size-and-structure-underground-commercial-sex-economy-eight-major-us-cities

11 Colleen  Owens et al., "Understanding the Organization, Operation, and  Victimization Process of Labor Trafficking in the United States,” Urban  Institute, last modified October 21, 2014, , http://www.urban.org/research/publication/understanding-organization-operation-and-victimization-process-labor-trafficking-united-states.

12“Child  Sex Trafficking,” National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, accessed  December 17, 2015, http://www.missingkids.com/1in6

13Ibid.

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COPS Office Photo Contest – January Winner | Human Trafficking Prevention Months | Spotlight on Japan: Social Systems Security  – A Combination of People and Science (Part I) | Roundup of the Cops and Robbers Symposium |Healing Communities  – From Resources to Technical Assistance

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