2012 Trafficking In Persons Final Report.pdf - NCJTC Home

Farrell, Amy, Jack McDevitt, and Stephanie Fahy, ―Understanding and Improving Law
Enforcement Responses to Human Trafficking: Executive Summary,‖ Northeastern University
Institute on Race and Justice (2008).
This report, funded by the Department of Justice, examines perceptions that law
enforcement hold about human trafficking and steps taken to address it, frequency of
identification and investigation of trafficking cases, what characteristics those cases had,
and what the investigation and prosecution of those cases looked like. Distributed
randomly to a sample of 3000 law enforcement agencies across the country at the state,
county, and municipal levels, some of the noteworthy findings of the survey included:
perception on the part of law enforcement that trafficking occurs in communities other
than their own, with the occasional exception in larger communities; every agency
surveyed had investigated one case of trafficking or more; and nearly all agencies
surveyed noted connections between trafficking in persons and criminal networks
facilitating drug trafficking and prostitution. The report makes five recommendations for
improving identification of and responses to human trafficking cases: adopting the
findings from the study to create a national training curriculum for local law enforcement
agencies; introduce model protocols to law enforcement that will assist them in
identifying and investigating trafficking cases; create a platform for dialogue about
trafficking cases and their nuances, such as the difficulty of determining victim status
when smuggling may be involved; begin to focus on offenders; and continue
collaboration among multi-agency task forces.
International Association of Chiefs of Police, The Crime of Human Trafficking: A Law
Enforcement Guide to Identification and Investigation 15 (2006).
Identifies common forms of trafficking. Distinguishes between trafficking and
smuggling. Dispels certain false stereotypes regarding the nature of trafficking and
victims‘ roles in their captivity in order to get law enforcement officials in correct
mindset when encountering potential victims. Useful guidelines for indicators in
community: businesses, building security, working conditions, appearance and
mannerism of workers. Contains useful tips for law enforcement officials, especially
surrounding creative strategies to elicit information from potential victims regarding
extent of freedom without asking direct questions these victims may not be able to
answer: ―Instead of immediately trying to determine whether someone is in this country
legally, ask how they arrived in the U.S., whether they have control over their documents,
and if their movement is restricted.‖ (6) Encourages relationships with local relief
initiatives and federal law enforcement agencies.
Mattar, Mohamed Y., Comparative Models of Reporting Mechanisms on the Status of
Trafficking in Human Beings, 41 Vand. J. Transnat‘l L. 1355, n.224 (2008).
Mohammed Mattar, Executive Director of the Johns Hopkins University School of
Advanced International Studies‘ Protection Project and Research Professor of Law,
attempts to provide the first comprehensive study of reporting and monitoring
mechanisms for human trafficking by analyzing models utilized by the United States and
Europe. He determines that further efforts to enhance reporting, such as the creation of a
national Rapporteur on trafficking, would help to increase states‘ attention to the vital
task of assessing the incidence of domestic trafficking. He profiles the Swedish, Dutch,
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