HUMAN TRAFFICKING SSA Steven B. Merrill San Francisco FBI.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

SSA Steven B. MerrillSan Francisco FBI

MISSION

The mission of the FBI’s Civil Rights Program is to enforce

federal civil rights statutes and to ensure the protected rights of all

persons are not abridged

SF FBI Area of Responsibility

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Involuntary Servitude & SlaveryHuman Trafficking

Trafficking - Moving people across jurisdictional boundaries and forcing them into a labor industryUSDOS estimates 500,000 to 2 million people are trafficked worldwide annuallyEstimated 15,000 to 18,000 persons trafficked annually to the United StatesFastest growing criminal industry in the world

Human Trafficking Task Forces

• In partnership with the Office for Victims of Crime, BJA administers the Law Enforcement Task Forces and Services for Human Trafficking Victims initiative

• Goals:– continue to enhance law enforcement’s ability to identify and

rescue victims of human trafficking– provide law enforcement with the resources and training to

identify and rescue victims of trafficking, and– Ensure comprehensive services are available wherever trafficking

victims are found• BJA currently funds 42 local and state law enforcement

anti-trafficking task forces across the country

HUMAN TRAFFICKING - Lucrative Business

Fastest growing criminal industry in the world

Yields an estimated $ 9.5 billion in profits annually, $ 3.5 billion in the U.S. annually

HT victims are trafficked into the U.S. from nearly every major country in the world

LEGAL FRAMEWORK: OLD LAWS:

• The Thirteenth Amendment:

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist in the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION ACT OF 2000

Congress passed the TVPA on October 28, 2000

• Three Pronged Strategy– Provide protection and assistance to

victims– Prosecute offenders (raised penalties) – Prevent human trafficking globally

TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION ACT OF 2000

• New legislation (Title 18 USC 1589 – 1594)• Raised penalties for slavery offenses,

calling for life sentences in worst cases• Amended in 2003, the most egregious

trafficking violations are now punishable by death

• Victim assistance (medical, housing) • Physical force/abuse no longer required as

an element • Psychological coercion, trickery, threats to

third parties written into the law

Type of Trafficking Reported in TIMS, January 2007 to June 2009

Jan-June 2007

July-Dec 2007

Jan-June 2008

July-Dec 2008

Jan-June 2009

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Jan-June 2007

July-Dec 2007

Jan-June 2008

July-Dec 2008

Jan-June 2009

0

50

100

150

200

250

sex laborbothother

National Western Region

HUMAN TRAFFICKING CASES BY FISCAL YEAR 2001-APRIL 2007

Human Trafficking Cases by Year

0

50

100

150

200

250

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007Year

Nu

mb

er

of

Ca

se

s

Cases Opened Cases PendingComplaints Indictments/ Informations Arrests Convictions

HOW ARE VICTIMS MOST OFTEN FOUND?

Information received from NGOs, churches, and community service providers

Complainant or victimLocal law enforcement’s response to

an incident

TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT POSSIBLE HUMAN TRAFFICKING

VIOLATIONSContact Your Local FBI Office, (415)553-

7400Contact the FBI Internet Tip Line at

www.fbi.govDepartment of Justice Trafficking in

Persons and Worker Exploitation Task Force Complaint Line, (888)428-7581. Operators have access to interpreters and can talk with callers in their own language.

QUESTIONS ?

Thank you