Trucking, Law Enforcement Partner to Fight Human Trafficking
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Trucking and its law enforcement partners have made major strides in developing methods to combat human trafficking, a panel of experts said Oct. 12.
American Trucking Associations hosted the panel discussion as part of its 2024 Management Conference & Exhibition. The federation has worked for years to combat the issue of human trafficking, including partnering with TAT, formerly known as Truckers Against Trafficking. The nonprofit trains professional drivers to recognize and report instances of human trafficking.
“TAT began in 2009, and since that time we’ve trained over 1.9 million industry professionals with our free training materials, and those truck drivers specifically have accounted for thousands of calls,” TAT Executive Director Esther Goetsch said. “So, we know that this is working.”
TAT grown significantly since its founding due in part to engaging with conferences such as MCE. This year, the organization even brought its mobile exhibit. But especially important are the partnerships and coalitions the organization has developed.
TAT Executive Director Esther Goetsch. (John Sommers II for Transport Topics)
“This year, we really wanted to take a deeper look at this issue and TAT’s role in building partnerships and network leadership across North America,” Goetsch said. “We wanted to have a little deeper conversation about kind of the holistic approach to fighting human trafficking and the unique role that each transportation leader or segment, including law enforcement, can play in making an impact.”
Goetsch pointed out that this growth involves expanding beyond trucking. TAT now works with the bus and energy industries as well.
“Training is such a fundamental value within a company,” said Jamie Hamm, vice president of safety and compliance at Werner Enterprises. “Starting with our professional drivers, but then just expanding it out to our mechanics, our office associates. All of us travel — whether it’s for work or for personal reasons — and so you encounter situations where you could engage someone who may be in a situation where they’re being trafficked.”
Werner ranks No. 16 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.
Beyond training, Hamm stressed the importance for employees of knowing how to respond to and report suspected incidents. For companies, she said its vital that policies and guidelines reflect a commitment to fighting the crime.
We are proud to partner with @Tatnonprofit in the fight against human trafficking. Together, we’re supporting a bill authored by @MarshaBlackburn & @SenAmyKlobuchar to increase data sharing between law enforcement & anti-trafficking groups to rescue victims & arrest criminals. pic.twitter.com/Uoexfl9A2o — American Trucking (@TRUCKINGdotORG) August 6, 2024
“We are contacted by local law enforcement to use our equipment to identify potential rings at truck stops or rest stops,” Hamm said. “That’s been really unique, and our drivers don’t necessarily know what’s going on or why we’re using the equipment that way. We’re helping the law enforcement community bring down some of these individuals who need to be behind bars.”
RELATED: USDOT lauds industry's efforts
Hamm added that it’s an ongoing commitment, requiring keeping initiatives up-to-date and ensuring drivers are trained annually on what to recognize. Werner also has equipped its drivers with apps that feature a direct link to contact the right people to report a trafficking incident.
Law enforcement welcomes the industry’s help, said Michael Krumm, a lieutenant colonel for the Michigan State Police. “In Michigan, we reached out to the Michigan Trucking Association,” he said. “We had many individual companies step up to support TAT, and that was all done through collaboration.”
Krumm said intercepting human traffickers can be a challenge for law enforcement, so having people trained on suspicious activity to watch for can help draw police attention in the right direction.
Share this with a friend or fellow transportation professional! #EverydayHeroesNeeded pic.twitter.com/RWOSyVTjHr — TAT (@tatnonprofit) October 3, 2024
“If you were to 15 years ago ask the average law enforcement officer what was human trafficking, they would not know what you’re talking about,” Krumm said. “They would immediately go back to prostitution. They would not see the victim-centered approach. And what TAT’s training has allowed us to do in Michigan — what we specifically did — is we trained every one of our members on the commercial vehicle side.” Krumm noted that MSP has instituted a policy that requires all troopers to receive human trafficking prevention training.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance also has partnered with TAT on an awareness program.
Check out the results of this year's Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative - including the tactics and strategies of various jurisdictions - in this Guardian article. https://t.co/GN9C9EKbwB pic.twitter.com/CG2gtDmkqS — CVSA (@CVSA) August 28, 2024
“The Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative is strictly an educational outreach,” said William Elovirta, CVSA director of enforcement programs. “When inspectors, troopers, officers at roadside that are talking to drivers, just taking an extra minute in the normal course of business to ask the drivers, ‘What do you know about human trafficking? Are you familiar with it?’ Being able to take advantage of handing out materials that we have from TAT.”
Krumm added, “There are so many things that we can agree on, and so many things that we can work together on.”
TAT also has expanded into Mexico. The organization immediately started developing initiatives centered on truck and bus drivers since the latter is a popular form of transportation in the country. It also involves working more with U.S. partners who have operations in Mexico.
“One of the things that we were able to do is a nationwide bus terminal campaign,” Kylla Lanier, senior director of external affairs at TAT. “We were able to blanket every bathroom in every bus terminal throughout Mexico. And that is their main mode of transportation, so this was significant to get that awareness out there. We also just completed an industry specific training for truck drivers.”
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