ABSTRACT
Human trafficking involves national and often transnational criminal activity, but it is the local law enforcement officer who is most likely to encounter such crimes that may be related to trafficking in human beings. Nationwide efforts are undertaken in the United States to confront the crime of human
Major Issues 193 Introduction 194 Challenges of Law Enforcement Training Response to Human Trafficking 195
Perception 195 Legal Mandates 196 Asymmetrical Threat 197 Response Reclassification 198 Cooperative Response 199 Law Enforcement Policy or Protocol 199 Victimization of Trafficked Persons 200
Current Approaches to Training 200 Human Trafficking Training by Federal Law Enforcement 201 Human Trafficking in Basic Law Enforcement Recruit Training 204 In-Service Training 205 Specialized Human Trafficking Task Force Training 207 Executive Training 209 University-Based Training 210 Training Supported by Nongovernmental Organizations 211
Possible Perspectives 212 Summary 213 Key Terms 213 Review Questions 214 References 214
trafficking, including the enactment of legislation providing resources to both law enforcement and victim service agencies working to identify and assist trafficking victims and prosecute traffickers. It is important that states have passed legislation criminalizing human trafficking and are directing law enforcement agencies to adopt training programs to improve identification and interdiction efforts. The author compares the different training efforts to human trafficking and suggests how to raise awareness about human trafficking and improve the responses of law enforcement agencies. This chapter is an exploratory assessment of the nature and extent of the local law enforcement training response to trafficking in human beings within the United States.
