Traffic Safety: Human Trafficking

NSA is working to raise awareness on the issue of Human Trafficking. Victims are frequently living in, or passing through our communities without our knowledge, and missed opportunities for interdiction have been well documented.

Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of someone for the purposes of compelled labor or a commercial sex act through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. It affects individuals across the world, including every community in the United States, and across age, gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic backgrounds.

Victims of human trafficking often do not immediately seek help or self-identify as victims of a crime due to a variety of factors, including lack of trust, self-blame, or specific instructions by the traffickers regarding how to behave when talking to law enforcement or social services.

For this reason, law enforcement agencies play a critical role in anti-human trafficking efforts. Law enforcement personnel may come into contact with victims in many situations -- during a crisis call, a routine traffic stop, or in the course of a long-term investigation.

Law enforcement is in a position to protect and assist victims of trafficking as well as bring traffickers to justice.