2012 Trafficking In Persons Final Report.pdf - NCJTC Home

FINAL REPORT
Executive Summary
Since its founding in 1974 the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has provided
national leadership to federal, state, tribal and local efforts to prevent delinquency, strengthen the juvenile justice
system and protect children from violence, abuse and exploitation. OJJDP is the only federal agency with a
specific mission to develop and disseminate knowledge about “what works” in the juvenile justice field. Drawing
on this knowledge OJJDP has worked with communities across the country to replicate proven, evidence-based
programs and improve existing programs. OJJDP supports communities and matches program models to their
specific needs and supports interventions that respond to the specific development, cultural, and gender needs of
the youth and families they serve.
According to the U.S. Government Office of Victims of Crime and the Bureau of Justice Assistance, human
trafficking—in all its forms—may be one of the least understood crimes in the nation. Law enforcement
personnel are currently not trained to recognize trafficking, and victims are often viewed as offenders by law
enforcement, juvenile justice and child protection systems, and the culture in general. In addition, victims often
view “themselves” as offenders. For these and many other reasons, the abuse, exploitation and trafficking of our
most vulnerable citizens - children - present unique challenges to government, law enforcement, justice systems,
school systems, public and private child welfare agencies, health care providers, and our country as a whole.
The 2012 Trafficking In Persons Symposium (Salt Lake City, April 10-13) sponsored by the Department
of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, examined domestic child sex and labor
trafficking to glean, compile, and disseminate first-hand knowledge and experience from 127 subject matter experts
(SMEs) brought together from law enforcement, the judicial system, social services, education, health care
and other community and faith-based initiatives. These experts came from Canada, Mexico, Tribal Communities
and twenty-seven states in the United States, and they represented fifty large and small law enforcement agencies,
five U.S. attorneys offices, four state attorneys general, the F.B.I., two major universities, survivors from across
the country, and large and small victim-service providers. All were vetted and invited based on their documented
prior first-hand involvement and work with trafficking cases and victims.
Utilizing a multidisciplinary, mixed-method approach, these SMEs examined critical issues related to
child trafficking in the United States, tribal communities and at U.S. borders. Using surveys, focus groups, and interviews,
Symposium attendees generated a wealth of new and experience-based information relating to not only
what is currently happening in the crime of child trafficking in this hemisphere, but also tested and best practices
relating to child trafficking identification, interviewing and accessing treatment for victims, investigation and
prosecution of traffickers and survivor perspectives on trafficking effects and dynamics.
The Trafficking in Persons Symposium’s prime objective was to use this information to develop SMEinformed
training for first responders, child welfare and juvenile justice personnel, medical professionals, educators,
social service providers and the public—aimed at supporting and enhancing abilities to identify and respond
to child trafficking. The surveys before the Symposium and the focus groups during the Symposium examined
five primary issues: (1) identification of victims and traffickers, (2) engaging victims, (3) investigation and prosecution
of traffickers, (4) response and restoration of victim/survivors, and (5) the survivor perspective; and the
study results are discussed on the following pages.
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