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Report: Law Enforcement Needs More Training to Tackle Human Trafficking

by VOA News

   More extensive and uniform training is needed to win the war on human
   trafficking, a lucrative and criminal industry, according to a U.S.
   panel.

   In its first annual report issued Tuesday, the United States Advisory
   Council on Human Trafficking said although federal law enforcement
   officers and support staff are more aware of the issue, they need
   training that provides "comprehensive and standardized understanding of
   all forms of human trafficking."

   The report says the brutality of slavery and the slave trade continues
   in the form of human trafficking, victimizing countless men, women, and
   children throughout the world.

   The council recommends law enforcers and others involved in combating
   the $150 billion industry receive training from actual survivors of
   human trafficking on the complexities of the crimes.

   The report also requests improved training for members of the
   Association of Club Executives, a trade association of adult nightclubs
   in the United States. The council recommends that the club owners
   receive additional awareness training with updated materials and the
   establishment of a program to monitor the effectiveness of their
   efforts.

   The council was established by the Obama administration in December
   2015 to provide a formal platform for survivors to provide expertise to
   federal agencies on the U.S. anti-trafficking policy.

   All eleven members of the council are survivors of human trafficking
   and they "represent a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences,"
   according to the report.

   Young people perform a routine to attract public attention to the
   problem of human trafficking, during a protest in central Kyiv,
   Ukraine, July 29, 2016.