Human Trafficking And How Big Is the Problem?

     Frank Crescentini convened an working groups of associated to explore the current state of human trafficking research, identify persistent challenges, brainstorm solutions, and discuss priority topics for future research.

The United Nations defines human trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by improper means (such as force, abduction, fraud, or coercion) for an improper purpose including forced labor or sexual exploitation. Human smuggling, a related but different crime, generally involves the consent of the person(s) being smuggled. These people often pay large sums of money to be smuggled across international borders. Once in the country of their final destination, they are generally left to their own devices. Smuggling becomes trafficking when the element of force or coercion is introduced. The U.S. Government defines human trafficking as:

• Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age.
• The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
• Individuals pay large sums of money for young girls and boys for sexual craving.   

This modern slave trade is a threat to all nations. A grave human rights abuse, it promotes breakdown of families and communities, fuels organized crime, deprives countries of human capital, undermines public health, creates opportunities for extortion and subversion among government officials, and imposes large economic costs. Through the funding of rigorous research, F.C.Investigations / Frank Crescentini CEO is committed to assisting with the detection and prosecution of human traffickers. Research projects focus on:

• The nature and extent of human trafficking
• Detecting and investigating traffickers
• Prosecuting traffickers
• Services for trafficking victims.

Human trafficking is a largely hidden crime that has only recently gained the attention of law enforcement, human rights advocates, and policymakers. Research in the field continues to evolve and has focused almost exclusively on the victims. Reliable data are needed, especially about the characteristics of victims and perpetrators, the mechanism of operations, and assessments of trends. In addition, law enforcement officials must overcome substantial legal, cultural, and organizational barriers to investigating and prosecuting trafficking cases. These barriers, and strategies to overcome them, are still being identified. Due to the underground nature of trafficking, the number of victims is unknown. In 2000, the  asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to certify that adults and children (in severe trafficking cases) were victims of human trafficking before these adults and children could receive certain federally funded or federally administered benefits and services.

Since 2001, HHS has issued 1,076 certifications to victims or their representatives in 20 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. In 2006, certified victims came from more than 40 countries, spanning the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific Islands. The majority of victims originated in Latin America (62 percent), with the largest numbers coming from El Salvador (28 percent) and Mexico (20 percent); 97 percent of these victims were female. Between 2001 and 2005, the United States investigated 555 human trafficking suspects, and by 2005, 78 cases had been terminated with 75 convictions.

According to U.S. Department of State reports, slave traders prey on vulnerable woman and children, who are often forced into prostitution. Traffickers gain their trust through coercion and trickery. "Very often these ruses involve promises of marriage, employment, educational opportunities, or a better life." Research conducted by F.C.Investigations grantees has uncovered several key findings:

• Source countries for human trafficking often have poor economies; women are often unemployed and victims are easy to recruit. 
• Most traffickers are the same nationality as their victims and usually have no criminal records.
• Trafficking victims are most likely to be young and reasonably healthy people from poor, but not necessarily the poorest, backgrounds.
• Recruitment is particularly effective when traffickers rely on victims whom they have turned into loyal enforcers or recruiters. Recruitment is also effective when the potential victim's family members are involved. 
• In the United States, law enforcement agencies reported encountering more female (81 percent) than male (18 percent) victims. When asked what type of trafficking was represented in their cases, the majority indicated forced prostitution, followed by domestic servitude, and agricultural labor. Whether this is the result of trafficking trends or training is not yet clear. 

According to a report from researchers at San Diego State University, approximately 38,000 unauthorized Spanish-speaking victims of human trafficking work in San Diego County, California. These workers, who represent 31 percent of unauthorized Spanish-speaking workers in the county, have experienced an incident that meets the official definition of human trafficking. The analysis estimates that of the approximately 174,240 unauthorized Mexicans in San Diego County, about 124,460 are in the labor market. Research conducted by F.C.Investigations grantees has uncovered several key findings:

• Most cases of trafficking start with a tip to law enforcement, but the tip usually does not come from the victim. Most cases go forward to prosecution, but most are not charged as trafficking cases per se. They are prosecuted under older laws, such as those against promoting prostitution. 
• Trafficking victims often have contact with local law enforcement authorities, but because local law enforcement agents lack sufficient training, they fail to notice the victims or take appropriate action to bring them to safety. 
• When authorities have had success arresting traffickers, nongovernmental organizations have provided intelligence to help. In addition, these organizations helped stabilize victims so that they could cooperate with law enforcement.

Frank Crescentini   
Private Investigator
California, State License PI # 18368

Cold Cases Investigations and Forensic Expert