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North Carolina Educates on Human Trafficking Operations at Symposium

Human trafficking crimes are on the rise, education and awareness are key to combating this crime

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By: Kelly Twedell

Last week in Raleigh on Sept. 12-13, the three U.S. Attorney's Offices in North Carolina presented a human trafficking symposium. The symposium was directed towards law enforcement and service providers.

Human trafficking is coined as modern day slavery in the United States. The need is recognized that law enforcement personnel still need education on how to identify and investigate these crimes as cases arise across our state.
 
The conference capped out at 200 attendees was co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime, the N.C. Justice Academy, Carolina's Institute for Community Policing, N.C. Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and N.C. Victim Assistance Network.

Topics presented at the conference focused on methods to reduce the barriers of human trafficking cases, prosecuting these crimes at the federal court level and eliminating obstacles for victims while they seek restoration services.

Fayetteville has had its share of human trafficking and sex crimes cases. In May 2012, 20-year old Kadeem Kirk faced 23 felony charges, involving kidnapping and trafficking a local 13-year old girl for sex. The most notorious local case has been about the five-year-old Shaniya Davis crime that took place in 2009, where Mario McNeil was convicted and is prison on the death penalty. Other crimes have included:


"It did not seem to matter whether the residential program offered three beds or 24 beds, was faith based, government funded, privately funded, well-funded or financially struggling - what stood out was the single critical figure who these children learned to trust, on whom they could depend, and in whom they could confide," said Dr. Lois Lee, Founder and President, Children of the Night in a Huffington Post news report last week on human trafficking when speaking about the importance of having a "critical figure" that victims can turn to as part of aftercare.

In April 2013, the White House forum on combating human trafficking issued the draft Federal Strategic Action Plan on Services for Victims of Human Trafficking.

Working together, comprehensive action can be taken to stop this terrible crime, rescue victims, and put perpetrators behind bars.

To learn more about human trafficking and what you can do, please visit the Department of Homeland Security's page and the Blue Campaign Facebook page.






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