by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
After drug smuggling and dealing, trafficking of humans is tied with arms dealing as the second-largest criminal industry in the world – and local officials and nonprofits are trying to address the problem in Jacksonville.
And the crime is local: Florida was ranked as one of the top three states for human trafficking in a 2003 report by the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights at Florida State University. Human trafficking victims are forced to work in prostitution or other inhumane labor conditions under the threat of death, violence, jail or deportation. Victims are often – but not always – immigrants who are not told the type of work expected in exchange for bringing them into the country, until they’re already here, have no money and don’t know how to find help.
In October, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded a total of $1.8 million to help four states implement programs designed to assist victims of human trafficking: Florida received the largest state award of more than $666,000. World Relief Jacksonville, part of a national evangelical Christian organization, received $60,000 to create an initiative called Network of Emergency Trafficking Services (NETS).
NETS works with local social-service agencies to provide housing, food, clothing, medical care, transportation and employment assistance to victims of human trafficking.
“We also educate law enforcement agencies and faith-based groups to help them identify the signs and victims of human trafficking. Our goal is to alleviate human suffering,” said Stani Bodenbender, NETS program coordinator for World Relief Jacksonville.
While it’s not known how much human trafficking is taking place in this area, Northeast Florida is an area of concern “because Jacksonville is a port city and a transportation hub with the crossroads of I-95 and I-10,” said Arnold Corsmeier, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Jacksonville Division of the Middle District of Florida. In January, he will become the chairman of the task force.
“We haven’t had any cases so far,” said Lt. Annie Smith with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Sex Crimes Division, also a member of the task force. “In the last year, we’ve been training officers and detectives how to recognize human trafficking. In a city as big as Jacksonville, there almost has to be some human trafficking. We just need to know what to look for.”
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid has some programs in place that can help human trafficking victims, such as its Employment Law Project. Visit the offices at 126 W. Adams St. or call 356-8371 or (866) 356-8371 for more information. To report human trafficking crimes or get help, call the Trafficking in Human Persons and Worker Exploitation Task Force’s toll-free hotline: 1-888-428-7581. New laws provide options for human trafficking victims regardless of immigration status, and language interpreters are available.