S.T.O.P.  Sex Trafficking Opposition Project

Info for Law Enforcement Officers

All information on this page is courtesy of the IACP, The Crime of Human Trafficking: A Law Enforcement Guide to Identification and Investigation, availalable at http://www.theiacp.org/documents/pdfs/RCD/CompleteHTGuide.pdf

"As first responders, we play a critical role in uncovering human trafficking which often presents as domestic violence, labor disputes, or prostitution.  We have the opportunity to identify and arrest the traffickers and provide justice for the victims."
    - Chief Mary Ann Viverette, Gaithersburg Police Department, Maryland

Trafficking vs. Smuggling

    -  The key distinction between trafficking and smuggling lies
       in the individual's freedom of choice.
          
           -  Smuggling occurs when someone is paid to assist
               another in the illegal crossing of borders.
          
           -  When a person is forced into a situation of
              exploitation where his or her freedom is taken away,
              he or she is then a victim of human trafficking.

Remember:  even if someone's original intent is to be smuggled into the country, if he or she arrives here and is held against his or her will and denied freedom and personal choice, he or she is now a victim of trafficking.  Slavery and involuntary servitude are illegal practices in the U.S.A. regardless of original consent.

Strategies for Identifying Sex Trafficking

Look for Possible Indicators of Sex Trafficking Where You May Not Expect It:
   
    - Businesses within your community:
   
          - Could any serve as fronts for trafficking?
   
    - Building Security:
   
          - Is it used to keep people out or to keep people in?
   
    - Working Conditions:
   
          - Do the workers have freedom of movement?
         
          - Do they live and work in the same place?
         
          - Do the workers owe a debt to their employers?
         
          - Do the employers have control over their workers' 
             immigration documents?
   
    - Appearance and mannerism of the workers:
   
          - Are there signs of trauma, fatigue, injuries, or other
            evidence of poor care?
   
          - Are the individuals withdrawn, afraid to talk, or is their
            communication censored?

Things to Keep in Mind When Dealing with Potential Trafficking Victims

Through the use of physical violence and psychological tactics, traffickers create an overwhelming sense of fear in their victims, not unlike the methods used by perpetrators of domestic violence.  Remember that an individual need not be beaten or restrained physically to be a victim; the use of force, fraud, or coercion fulfills the elements of a human trafficking crime.

In order to coerce and control victims, traffickers will often:
   
    - Confiscate papers and legal documents
   
    - Misrepresent U.S. laws and consequences for entering the
      country illegally
   
    - Threaten victims with arrest or deportation
   
    - Threaten to harm or kill family in the victim's homeland
   
    - Use debt and other fines in order to create an
      insurmountable "peonage" situation in which the victim
      must work off a debt  or face punishment.  Debts
      commonly include their initial smuggling fee; charges
      for food, housing, clothing, medical expenses; or fines
      for failing to meet daily quotas
   
    - Move victims from location to location or trading them
      from one establishment ot another resulting in a situation
      where victims may not know which town or state they are    
      in and are less able to locate assistance
   
    - Create a dependency using tactics of psychological and
       emotional abuse in much the same way a batterer
       behaves toward their intimate partner in a dynamic of    
       domestic violence
   
    - Dictate or restrict movement
   
    - Isolate victims who do not speak English, as they rely on
      the trafficker as a translator and their only source of
      information