The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 23, Number 8 | Page 19

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | October 2017
Human Trafficking and 21st Century Policing
By Det. Frank Sabella, Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office
In May of 2015, the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing published its report “identifying the best
practices and offering recommendations on how policing practices can promote effective crime reduction while
building public trust [1].” There was a heavy emphasis placed upon police-community relations as well as measures
that can be taken in furtherance of crime reduction while viewing it through the lens of poverty and education. The
mantra of having a “guardian” rather than a “warrior” mindset was woven into several of the pillars of the report. On
July 12th of this year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2200, the “Frederick Douglass Trafficking
Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017.” Most American, even those in law
enforcement, will not immediately envision a corollary between the two documents. After all, what does a report
dealing with policing strategies have to do with a congressional funding bill? But when law enforcement considers
that the passing of H.R. 2200 is in actuality an affirmation of the importance of investigating human trafficking, and
all civil rights violations, we can see that the core goals of both documents are very similar.
New Jersey has had a Human Trafficking criminal statute in place since 2005. In 2013, the NJ “Human Trafficking
Prevention, Protection, and Treatment Act” increased the strength and effectiveness of that law. Yet today, five
years later, we are still experiencing little in the way of criminal prosecutions when compared to other serious
crimes. “We lack an understanding of how local agencies investigate and prosecute human trafficking cases once
identified [2].” when we consider law enforcement’s approach to human trafficking through the lens of the 21st
Century Policing concepts, we begin to identify some areas in which we can improve.
The Task Force Report begins by addressing the concept of Procedural Justice. The first principle to procedural
justice, and the one most salient here, is that of “Treating people with dignity and respect [1].” Law enforcement,
and the citizenry at large, encounter potential victims of human trafficking on a daily basis. Often times these
encounters go unrealized. Law enforcement officers face a particular challenge when we consider that most victims
are encountered as offenders and, absent identification as a victim, can be charged as such [2]. Unfortunately, this
can lead to certain attitudinal barriers to victim identification. A victim encountered as an offender has a much less
likelihood of being treated in the way we expect crime victims to be treated. It requires thinking outside the box on
the part of the officer, coupled with a strict adherence to the principle of procedural justice. Otherwise, an officer’s
implicit bias, based upon the situation presented, will blind him or her from seeing the potential for victimization.
Remember the “guardian” versus the “warrior” mentality. Policing culture is often difficult to change. Yet, to be
successful in victim identification, law enforcement needs to make a cultural shift in how certain offenders are
viewed[1]. Victims are often associated with engaging in risky or criminal behavior. This creates a sense of
blameworthiness in the mind of the officer [2].
For example, the street level female who becomes involved in prostitution. Most officers view her strictly as an
offender or a “quality of life” issue in the neighborhood in which she is found. However, if the officer chooses to look
deeper into the root cause of that female becoming involved in prostitution, he or she may begin to identify
victimization. That is not to say that all females in such a situation are victims of human trafficking. Moreover, of
those that are victims, most will not make it easy for even the most open-minded officer to identify her victimization.
That is why developing relationships that are of a non-enforcement in nature is key. The more officers are in the
community speaking with the citizens in his or her patrol sector, the better the relationship becomes. Often times
the identification of a trafficking victim may require a non-law enforcement member of the community vouching for
the trustworthiness of that officer the with potential victim. Law enforcement cannot develop those relationships if
they are not actively partaking in trust-building measures in the community [1]. In an area with an element of street
level prostitution, it should be seen as good 21st Century Policing for officers to be someone engaged with that
population outside of the enforcement realm. This population can also be a great source of information on other
types of crimes.
TRAINING
How do we get our officers to evaluate situations with an eye toward victim identification? It all begins with training.
New Jersey has an academy training section covering human trafficking [3]. It also has an in-service requirement for
select officers based upon the nature of their assignment that is satisfied via the NJ LEARN system [4]. The intent of
these blocks of instruction is to provide the recruit or experienced officer with an understanding of the elements of
18
Continued on next page