Resources
For resources and information on human trafficking, click here. To access online training tools, click here.
Resources for Task Force Creation
- Office of Victims of Crime: Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force Strategy and Operations E-Guide
- Department of Justice BJA/OVC Task Force Initiative
- DC Task Force Organizational Model
Human Trafficking Prosecutions
To learn about past human trafficking cases in the United States, please visit the University of Michigan Law School’s Human Trafficking Law Project (HTLP), which is the first publically available database of human trafficking cases nationwide.
Human Trafficking in the News
Please also visit Polaris Project’s Human Trafficking in the News section for current media coverage of human trafficking.
Implementation
Polaris Project believes that enacting human trafficking laws and policies is only half the battle.
Successful implementation requires:
- Systematic and sustainable training on the laws and policies that target traffickers and assist victims;
- Creation of coordinated task forces, coalitions, working groups to fight human trafficking;
- Institutionalization of mandatory training and effective training curricula;
- Development of wide-ranging public awareness campaigns.
- Investment in community-based anti-trafficking responses; and
- Provision of comprehensive direct services for all victim populations.
Collaborative Initiatives
Polaris Project plays an active role in multiple task forces, coalitions, working groups, and commissions in which we serve as participants, committee chairs, or in an advisory capacity to leadership. Polaris Project is an active member of the following groups:
- Washington, D.C. Human Trafficking Task Force
- Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force
- New Jersey Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force and Anti-Trafficking Working Group
- Ohio Attorney General Trafficking in Persons Research Commission
- Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Working Group
- Pennsylvania Human Trafficking Advisory Committee.
The National Human Trafficking Resource Center, operated by Polaris Project, also plays an integral role in interfacing with task forces nationwide, connecting local stakeholders, identifying the latest trends, providing promising practices, and coordinating local anti-trafficking initiatives.
Task Forces
A task force is meant to be multidisciplinary in nature and inclusive of both service provider and law enforcement stakeholders who share the goal of creating a comprehensive response to the crime of human trafficking. Task forces are often comprised of multiple committees, which focus on the following areas: training and technical assistance, victim identification and services, general awareness-raising, and coordination of law enforcement investigations and intelligence-sharing.
Currently, there are 40 Department of Justice BJA/OVC funded human trafficking taskforces as well as multiple community-initiated and funded task forces throughout the United States. Task forces with investigative committees for sharing intelligence among law enforcement agencies require general Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) between stakeholders.
Back to Collaborative Initiatives
Coalitions
Coalitions involve community stakeholders, who typically focus on general awareness raising, policy and legislative advocacy, and victim assistance. Coalitions do not require the participation of law enforcement agencies but may include law enforcement stakeholders.
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Working Groups
Working groups often involve informal relationships between stakeholders who come together to address issues on an as-needed basis without formal Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) or organizational structure.
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Commissions
Commissions, which are often designated by state law, frequently take on the task of researching and gathering data and information to better assess and develop an action plan to address human trafficking in a given state or area.
