1) Human trafficking happens when a person is forced, against their will, to work or conduct sexual acts when they are 18. "Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), human trafficking has occurred if a person was induced to perform labor or a commercial sex act through force, fraud, or coercion. Any person under age 18 who performs a commercial sex act is considered a victim of human trafficking" (Swanson, Chamelin, Territo, & Taylor, 2012, p. 342). Human trafficking does not have to have a person cross international borders either and can happen to an individual in their own country.
Human trafficking can occur in many different professions. According to Swanson et al., "trafficking occurs primarily for labor and most commonly in domestic servitude, agriculture, manufacturing, janitorial services, hotel services, construction, health and elder care, hair and nail salons, and strip club dancing" (2012, 342). Human trafficking occurs most often to women and children and they are often immigrants and usually younger individuals (Swanson et al., 2012, 345-346).
2) Human trafficking reports in Florida have increased by over 50% since last year (CBS News & The Associated Press, 2017). Florida officials claim that the increase in reporting was due to three factors. The first was that law enforcement received increased training. The second factor was the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, and the attorney general developed a new screening tool (CBS News & The Associated Press, 2017). The third factor was the Florida Statewide Council on Human Trafficking, "also implemented specialized training for first responder and other child welfare professionals to help recognize the signs" (CBS News & The Associated Press, 2017).
The Human Trafficking Screening Tool (HTST) was developed, "to identify juvenile victims of both labor trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children, will be used to assess at-risk youth at Florida Department of Juvenile Justice intake facilities upon arrest" (DiGiacomo, 2015). Florida also tries to help out victims as much as they possibly can. DCF Secretary Mike Carrol stated that, "Florida must continue to create and implement a continuum of services that address all aspects of a survivor's life including physical, social, emotional, and spiritual health" (CBS News & The Associated Press, 2017).
An increase in reporting by over 50% is pretty significant and shows that capabilities and training being introduced into Florida to identify human trafficking victims is helping and could be a model for other states to look at. Increasing training for municipal and state law enforcement officers as well developing tools that will help identify victims of human trafficking are some of the tools that can be used by the government to help combat human trafficking.
3) Increasing the training of local law enforcement officers on Human trafficking would be an important factor in reducing Human Trafficking. Local law enforcement will have the most day to day interaction with citizens of a community and they would be the most likely to spot signs of human trafficking. Developing tools similar to the tool that Florida developed could also help.
I would also try and educate the civilian population on signs of human trafficking through programs. Even doing something simple as putting up a few billboards around a city displaying some of the signs of human trafficking and what to look for could help law enforcement get tips on human trafficking activity in their area. Law enforcement could work with the local community in areas where human trafficking is more prevalent and run public service announcements or short commercials on television or the radio also talking about the signs of human trafficking and what to do if someone were to see possibly human trafficking occurring.
I would also implement tougher sentences for individuals who participate in human trafficking. If individuals knew that they could receive a very harsh sentence if they were convicted of human trafficking it could deter some individuals from doing so. Utilizing services like the U-Visa and utilizing nongovernmental organizations to help victims will make them more likely to help prosecute criminals. This could possibly have an effect on other victims if they were to hear how other victims were treated and taken care of, however this would probably not occur very often due to the fact that a lot of the victims are very isolated.
4) References:
CBS News & The Associated Press (2017, January 15). Human trafficking cases increase more than 50 percent in Florida. CBS News. Retrieved from
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/human-trafficking-cases-increase-more-than-50-percent-in-florida/
DiGiacomo, Heather. (2015, April 13). DJJ launches new human trafficking screening tool statewide.
Florida Department of Children and Families. Retrieved from
https://wwwnew.dcf.state.fl.us/press-release/djj-launches-new-human-trafficking-screening-tool-statewide
Swanson, C. R., Chamelin, N. C., Territo, L., Taylor, R. W. (2012). Criminal Investigation, 11th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.