BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) - A new partnership between the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and the Child Trafficking Solutions Project aims to fight human trafficking.
"In Alabama, we have an alarming, alarmingly small amount of data about statistics surrounding child sex and labor trafficking,” said James Barrett, state director of community engagement with CTSP.
CTSP says one of the reasons behind this shortage of data is a lack of convictions for traffickers. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the number of people convicted of a human trafficking offense nearly doubled between 2012 and 2022.
CTSP says training law enforcement to know the signs of human trafficking and how to uphold the integrity of an investigation is key to getting these convictions.
"What is doesn’t look like is if you’ve seen the movie Taken, where they’ve got the white van with the padlocks on the back, it’s typically not what Hollywood says trafficking looks like," Barrett said. "Very rarely does law enforcement get called out to an issue because someone suspects trafficking is happening. Usually, it’s a noise complaint or a domestic violence call. Could be a staffer at a hotel or motel that sees something that might be rather peculiar.”
CTSP says there’s this idea that trafficking mainly happens in metro areas but says child trafficking can happen anywhere.
"In Alabama, we have a huge issue with familial trafficking. So that could be where a family member is trafficking a child or someone that, a child that they maybe have custody of," Barrett explained. "If a child has a phone, is allowed to go in his or her bedroom, get on their phone, it’s kind of like opening a window to the world and they have the ability at that point in time to talk to people anywhere on the planet.”
As CTSP partners with JCSO, the goal is to teach the department trafficking warning signs and what the next steps are once it’s suspected.
"Child trafficking and human trafficking are both a problem. Sometimes it’s so unseen you just don’t know about it, but it can be sex trafficking, it can also be labor trafficking as well, forced labor, and so we have to look out for those things and try to give people relief,” said Henry Irby with JCSO. “We’ve had some successes with drug trafficking and citizens giving us information, so we hope to have this same type of relationship with citizens as well so that they’ll tell us when they see something suspicious.”
JCSO gave a list of warning signs people can look for when it comes to child or human trafficking. Irby says not every sign will be present in every trafficking case and just because a sign is there or missing, isn't proof of human trafficking. The list is:
• Does the person appear disconnected from family, friends, community organizations, or houses of worship?
• Has a child stopped attending school?
• Has the person had a sudden or dramatic change in behavior?
• Is a juvenile engaged in commercial sex acts?
• Is the person disoriented or confused, or showing signs of mental or physical abuse?
• Does the person have bruises in various stages of healing?
• Is the person fearful, timid, or submissive?
• Does the person show signs of having been denied food, water, sleep, or medical care?
• Is the person often in the company of someone to whom he or she defers? Or someone who seems to be in control of the situation, e.g., where they go or who they talk to?
• Does the person appear to be coached on what to say?
• Is the person living in unsuitable conditions?
• Does the person lack personal possessions and appear not to have a stable living situation?
• Does the person have freedom of movement? Can the person freely leave where they live? Are there unreasonable security measures?
You can learn more about CTSP on its website HERE.