New Report on Human Trafficking in California

A new report has been released by the California Department of Justice entitled, "The State of Human Trafficking in California, 2012." The trafficking of drugs and guns has been a problem in many areas throughout the world, but in the last 5 years human trafficking has become more prevalent among transnational and domestic gangs. New technologies such as social media have also enabled traffickers to "recruit victims, facilitate their crimes, and evade law enforcement."

"Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery. It involves controlling a person through force, fraud, or coercion to exploit the victim for forced labor, sexual exploitation, or both. Human trafficking strips victims of their freedom and violates our nation's promise that every person in the United States is guaranteed basic human rights. It is also a crime. [...] Human trafficking is an estimated $32 billion-a-year global industry. After drug trafficking, human trafficking is the world's second most profitable criminal enterprise, a status it shares with illegal arms trafficking. Like drug and arms trafficking, the United States is one of the top destination countries for trafficking in persons. California -- a populous border state with a significant immigrant population and the world's ninth largest economy -- is one of the nation's top four destination states for trafficking human beings."

In January 2012, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris created a Human Trafficking Work Group to do the following:

• Examine the nature and scope of human trafficking in California in 2012.
• Evaluate California’s progress since 2007 in combating human trafficking.
• Identify challenges and opportunities in protecting and assisting victims and bringing traffickers to justice.

Below are a few highlights from the report:

• From mid-2010 to mid-2012, California’s nine regional human trafficking task forces identified 1,277 victims, initiated 2,552 investigations, and arrested 1,798 individuals.
• In the same two-year period, California’s task forces provided training to 25,591 law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, victim service providers, and other first responders. Several non-governmental organizations have also trained judicial officers, airport personnel, social service providers, pro bono attorneys, and retail businesses, among others. The variety of individuals who have been trained underscores the pervasiveness of human trafficking and the important role that governmental and non-governmental actors play in detecting trafficking and assisting victims.
• 72% of human trafficking victims whose country of origin was identified by California’s task forces are American. The public perception is that human trafficking victims are from other countries, but data from California’s task forces indicate that the vast majority are Americans.
• Local and transnational gangs are increasingly trafficking in human beings because it is a low-risk and high, renewable profit crime. It is critical for federal, state, and local law enforcement and labor regulators to collaborate across jurisdictions to disrupt and dismantle these increasingly sophisticated, organized criminal networks.
• Traffickers are reaching more victims and customers by recruiting and advertising online. Traffickers use online advertising and Internet-enabled cell phones to access a larger client base and create a greater sense of anonymity. Law enforcement needs the training and tools to investigate trafficking online.

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