2012 Trafficking In Persons Final Report.pdf - NCJTC Home

Trafficking in Persons symposium
need for successful prosecution. Group members also recommended exchanging best practices and promoting
a common understanding of human trafficking among all officials. Skill building should focus on
effective communication and information sharing, developing effective task forces, and exploring new
ways to obtain victim testimony. Training should also aim to better prepare officials for using Embassies
around the world, stress the need to assign strong case managers to multi-jurisdictional cases, work toward
developing pre-planned incident response strategies, and expedite the transfer of information through the
system.
Objective 9: Develop learning objectives for labor trafficking investigators
Requirements: Training should work to develop an improved understanding of community and cultural
indicators, victim dynamics, and the difference between labor trafficking and exploitation. There are many
types of labor exploitation that may not specifically be trafficking. For example, using illegal immigrant
labor involves low wages, but workers are allowed to live on their own. Trafficking involves the enslavement
of workers, where the offenders have complete control over the victims’ lives. Officials must also
begin to understand the victim’s perception of their situation in labor trafficking cases. They frequently
perceive the traffickers as a hero for saving them and thus may be unlikely to speak out against them. Victims
might also be dealing with a certain level of fear that a family member may be harmed if they were to
stop working. Skill building should focus on community mapping and effectively interviewing trafficking
victims. Successful training should result in increased situational awareness, partnering and sharing of
information, and gaining information/insight into the trafficker and victim dynamic.
Objective 10: Develop learning objectives for improving prosecution numbers and success
Requirements: Training should teach participants how to build an effective team and stress the importance
of identifying passionate individuals. Efforts should be made to identify officials needing to be trained
in a given area and determine their specific educational needs. Participants recommended utilizing survivors,
research material, and best practices to develop effective material. Officials also need to learn how
to conduct effective case debriefs and depersonalize them. Case debriefs represent a powerful learning
tool provided officials can leave ego out of the process. Juries should be polled on each and every case
to see what worked, unique aspects and what was understood. Victim services and resources need to be
identified both before and after a trial. Prosecutors should learn to consider all possible charging options
and prosecute swiftly on lower charges while building the larger trafficking case. Immediately filing lesser
charges can break the cycle of victimization by getting the offender off the streets.
Objective 11: Develop learning objectives for sex trafficking investigators
Requirements: Prosecutors, investigators, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders need
to be educated regarding the importance of sharing information with other key partners. Officials need to
be made aware of what services are available for victims. Service providers should be included as soon as
possible during the investigation. Law enforcement leaders also need training regarding human trafficking
and the special needs of victims.
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