Wednesday, August 7 | 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Crystal Lawrence
According to the United Nations’ International Labour Organization, human traffickers victimize an estimated 27.6 million people worldwide; 77% are subjected to forced labor and 23% to sex trafficking. In a report released in February 2024, the US Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Countering Human Trafficking indicates that 1,282 cases have been initiated, 2, and 610 arrests have been made, resulting in 1,044 indictments and 519 convictions occurred between October 2022 and September 2023.
This presentation discussed the types of human trafficking, how traffickers target and recruit victims, characteristics and vulnerabilities of victims, types of calls to an ECC that may be an indicator of human trafficking, and techniques that may be used when speaking with a victim of human trafficking.
Combating human trafficking is a community issue and requires partnerships between law enforcement, health and human services, child protective services, and others. Awareness of human trafficking indicators, call types that may have a human trafficking component and knowledge of techniques for handling calls from victims is necessary for public safety telecommunicators (PST) to assist in the advocacy of victims.
