COLUMBUS – Ohio’s Attorney General is taking steps to combat human trafficking by identifying potential victims and helping those who have been rescued.
Criminal intelligence analysts with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Missing Persons Unit will check database reports to look for indicators that signify that a child could be vulnerable or who may already be involved with a human trafficker and will alert local law enforcement when the analysis points to a child in the community who may be at risk, Attorney General Mike DeWine said Monday.
“Human traffickers look for a very specific type of person to victimize, and oftentimes they set their sights on children who are young and have a history of running away from home,” he said.
According to the 2016 Human Trafficking Commission Annual Report released by DeWine’s office Monday, there were 151 potential victims of human trafficking identified last year, and in 22 of the cases the underlying risk factor had been listed as “runaway and homeless youth” by law enforcement agencies.
Police also identified 170 suspected traffickers, including 160 potential sex traffickers and 10 potential labor traffickers, in 2016.
The Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse is a central repository for statistics and information about missing children in Ohio.
DeWine also announced today that he is awarding a grant of $128,148 from the Victims of Crime Act to Amethyst, Inc., for 12 apartments in the Columbus area to provide safe and stable housing for human trafficking victims in central Ohio referred to Amethyst from the Franklin County Municipal Court’s Changing Actions to Change Habits Court.
The so-called CATCH court is intended to help women who have been charged with offenses such as prostitution and solicitation if the defendant is a human trafficking victim. The victims participate in an intensive two-year program that helps them reclaim their lives, and upon graduation, charges are dismissed.
The Crimes Against Children Unit will also be available to assist local law enforcement, human trafficking coalitions, and service agencies in developing plans to help at-risk children or assist in human trafficking investigations.
Four free, regional training courses for law enforcement will be offered by BCI in 2017 to help officers identify and assist at-risk youth.