PCSO hosts human-trafficking training

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board hosted a regional human trafficking training today to provide law enforcement and service providers the tools necessary to combat human and child sex trafficking in Arizona.

 

Nearly 60 people from agencies from around Pinal County attended.

 

Babeu opened the training and Officer Lynn Howe, training specialist from the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, provided information on resources and best-practice protocols for preventing and responding to reports of trafficking.

 

Current estimates place the number of human trafficking victims at anywhere from 500,000 to 2 million per year. The actual number of victims of domestic and foreign human trafficking, whether for sex or labor, however, remains largely unknown.

 

What is known by law enforcement is the methods that traffickers are using to obtain domestic victims. From kidnapping children at malls to enticing them online, children and teens are most susceptible to becoming a trafficking victim when they have the freedom to move around without parent or guardian supervision.

 

TRUST, an organization dedicated to stopping trafficking, offers advice for parents and guardians:

• Closely monitor your children’s online and phone activities.

• Teach your children online safety tips, such as to never give out phone numbers, birthdates or addresses.

• Know where your children are and who they are with at all times.

• Understand and teach your children the signs of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and relationship abuse.

• Tell your children to trust their instincts and the realities of “stranger danger.”

 

If you or someone you know may be a trafficking victim, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-3737-888.