2012 Trafficking In Persons Final Report.pdf - NCJTC Home

FINAL REPORT
cases at the federal level. Federal Prosecution is the only avenue available to the tribes across the country.
Tribal courts are limited in their availability to properly prosecute these cases. There is a high level of need
for judges to be trained and exposed to the survivor’s perspective. An education gap also exists for sex
trafficking dynamics within law enforcement, prosecution, judges, schools, faith communities, medical
professionals, and tribal communities. Training needs to be provided to all players in the process.
Objective 11: Discuss sex trafficking investigations
Findings: Sex trafficking cases are extremely complex and time consuming. They require experienced investigators
and prosecutors with the expertise and experience to properly handle the case. Participants also
noted that non-governmental and community organizations are integral to sex trafficking investigations.
Objective 12: Examine the legal barriers to prosecution at the state, tribal and federal level
Findings: One of the primary legal barriers to successful prosecution is the 5 th and 6 th Amendment rights of
victims. Since many victims first come into contact with law enforcement as criminals, investigators have
limited access to information. Given the sensitivity of these cases there are also issues surrounding evidence.
Victims often do not want to testify and if they are required to do so, steps must be taken to properly
protect their privacy. Age is another barrier in terms of what constitutes a juvenile. Many jurisdictions treat
children 15 years of age and older as adults. Participants also noted that victims in the 18-21 year range are
still quite young and vulnerable even though they are not officially classified as “children.” State statutes
differ greatly from one another and federal statutes (to include tribal laws) in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
In addition to legal issues, participants identified several procedural issues within the legal system that can
affect the prosecution of trafficking cases. There are few dedicated units in law enforcement and prosecution
for handling these sorts of crimes. As such, trafficking offenses are often not given adequate attention,
focus, and resources. Conflicts also exist with state versus federal charging. When state prosecutors move
forward with a case some federal attorneys may be reluctant to seek federal charges. It becomes a resource
allocation issue. If a state or federal court is handling a case then the other jurisdiction will likely reserve
their limited resources for other cases. State prosecutors must also act faster in terms of charging than their
federal counterparts, which can result in an inability to file charges if too much time has passed.
Goal 4: Identify barriers to identification, investigation and prosecution.
Objective 1: Discuss barriers to identifying victims
Finding: Social and cultural stigmas levied against prostitutes represent one of the main barriers. Efforts
must be made to debunk current myths, stereotypes, and biases. Jurisdictional issues and the associated
lack of communication/collaboration between agencies represent another major challenge to the process.
Partnerships must be developed to combat trafficking not just among law enforcement agencies, but the
courts, prosecutors, and social services. Additional factors hindering the identification of victims include
professional egos, low prioritization of trafficking crimes, minimal public awareness, lack of culturally
specific training, and limited instances of self-reporting.
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