Garland Pledges ‘Full Force’ of DOJ in Battle Against Human Trafficking

Releasing the Justice Department’s new National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland promised to step up the government's capacity to interdict traffickers, prosecute existing cases, and to support survivors. 

Garland Pledges ‘Full Force’ of DOJ in Battle Against Human Trafficking

Releasing the Justice Department’s new National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland  promised to step up the government’s capacity to interdict traffickers, prosecute existing cases, and to support victims and survivors. 

“Human trafficking is an insidious crime,” Garland said in a statement accompanying the release Monday. “Traffickers exploit and endanger some of the most vulnerable members of our society and cause their victims unimaginable harm.

“The Justice Department’s new National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking will bring the full force of the Department to this fight.”

With an estimated 24.9 million victims worldwide at any given time, human traffickers often prey on adults and children of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities, exploiting them for their own profit. 

In the United States, people are often forced into commercial sex trades, or other industrial sectors, like hospitality, salon services, massage parlors, and drug smuggling operations, the U.S. Department of State website details. 

Since the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, America has followed a fundamental framework approach called the “3P” paradigm — prosecution, protection, and prevention — which is further exemplified in the latest released strategy. 

DOJ’s Enhanced Ability for Change

As part of the latest multi-year strategy, the Department of Justice is enhancing its capacity to detect human trafficking and identify human trafficking victims. Much of this initiative includes advanced training across sectors with nationwide networks, juvenile systems, and drug trafficking investigations, as well as increased attention, and resource allocation.

This also includes the development of a new victim screening protocol, designed to support survivors within their interactions with law enforcement, the report outlines, including the coordination and joint efforts across all 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and by the federal law enforcement to stop the heinous crimes.

There will also be an enhanced initiative spearheaded to reduce vulnerabilities of American Indians and Alaskan Natives, including human trafficking vulnerabilities while also working to locate missing children.

See Also: Montana Human Trafficking Up 871%

With that, the department is also further employing a victim-centered and trauma-informed approach, the report outlines, adding that they will be culturally-responsive in order to gain the trust of survivors and avoid re-traumatization.

This goes hand-in-hand with the announcement of more victim-centered assistance programs, including supporting efforts to ensure financial restoration to survivors.

Lastly, the Department of Justice pledges in their report to improve data gathering and reporting, considering information is “critical to developing sound anti-trafficking policy.” 

“The Department of Justice places the highest priority on its efforts to combat human trafficking,” the report concludes. “The Department looks forward to implementing this Strategy to prevent victimization, protect those who have been harmed, and vindicate their rights through criminal prosecution.”

The full National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking can be accessed here.

Additional Reading: Can Technology Stop Human Trafficking?

Andrea Cipriano is Associate Editor of The Crime Report