NEWS RELEASE
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
BRADLEY J. SCHLOZMAN
Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ? (816) 426-4220 ? 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ? Kansas City, MO 64106
www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html
OCTOBER 3, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HUMAN TRAFFICKING INITIATIVE
DEPT. OF JUSTICE AWARDS $900,000 TO HOPE HOUSE,
INDEPENDENCE POLICE DEPT.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Bradley J. Schlozman, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that the Department of Justice has awarded grants of $450,000 each to Hope House and the Independence, Mo., Police Department as part of a national initiative to combat human trafficking.
"These grants will help fund our recently launched Human Trafficking Task Force,” Schlozman said, “which is a partnership between the U.S. Attorney's Office, law enforcement from the federal, state, and local levels, and victim service agencies. We are pleased that two local agencies were selected among only 18 agencies nationwide to receive these grants, which will provide the resources for our task force to have a significant impact.”
Hope House and the Independence Police Department will spearhead a two-pronged strategy. “The Human Trafficking Task Force is a unique approach,” Schlozman said, “because it unites law enforcement agencies with victim service agencies to tackle both sides of a complex problem. We are equally committed to aggressively prosecuting modern-day slave traders and providing needed assistance to their victims.”
The Independence Police Department, among the partners in the Human Trafficking Working Group, will employ two detectives and a crime analyst to coordinate investigations, communicate among the other agencies, provide training for law enforcement officers and serve as the fiscal agent and grant administrator. Those officers will handle tips or complaints of human trafficking and conduct follow-up investigation.
“We are honored to have been selected for this very important grant to combat the heinous crime of human trafficking,” said Independence Chief of Police Fred Mills. “The insidious nature of this crime entraps victims into a world of dehumanization, pain, suffering, and destruction of all hope that many times leads to the victim’s death. We’re going to use this money to track down every predator we can, free every victim we can, and try to stop this evil wherever we can.”
Hope House spearheads the Coalition Against Human Trafficking, a group of non-governmental organizations assisting victims of human trafficking. Hope House provides safe shelter and a variety of services to women and children who have suffered from abuse and leads a network of shelters across Missouri.
“We are excited about the collaboration that is going to be put into the issue of human trafficking,” said Ilene Shehan, chief operating officer of Hope House. “We know it is happening in our community and with these dollars we will be able to call it what it is and address the issue.”
“Hope House, which has 23 years of experience in serving victims of domestic violence, is uniquely qualified to assist victims of human trafficking by providing shelter, counseling and other services,” Schlozman said.
Under the federal grant, Hope House will employ a case manager to address the specific needs of human trafficking victims. The case manager will provide referrals for services not directly provided by Hope House, such as physical health care, literacy or job training. Translation services will be available to non-English speaking victims, as well as transportation to court, doctor’s offices and other off-site appointments.
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced the grants today during the 2006 National Conference on Human Trafficking in New Orleans. Representatives from federal, state and local organizations attending the conference are discussing methods of investigating human trafficking and servitude and how victim services are structured and defined. Discussions defining the international as well as the national trafficking practices are on the agenda.
Schlozman, who is presenting a session at the conference on the topic of successfully launching a human trafficking task force, is attending the conference this week with representatives of the local task force.
The funding announced today will be used to create new Human Trafficking Task Forces in 10 cities around the country, building on the current work of over 32 national task forces working as part of a collaborative effort among various Department of Justice components, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Labor and State, and national and community-based organizations to combat human trafficking.
“Human trafficking is a violation of the human body, mind and spirit. For this vile practice to be taking place in a country that the world looks to as a beacon of freedom is a terrible irony and an utter tragedy,” said Gonzales in announcing the grants. “This funding will help cement partnerships between law enforcement agencies and victims’ services organizations, and enable the Trafficking Task Forces’ work of identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking as well as apprehending and prosecuting the perpetrators of these unconscionable crimes.”
Increasing and prosecuting human trafficking has been a major priority of the Department of Justice. Under the direction of the Attorney General, the U.S. Attorneys and the Civil Rights Division have taken the lead in prosecuting human trafficking cases at the federal level. In fiscal year 2006, the Civil Rights Division, working with the various U.S. Attorneys’ offices, initiated 167 investigations, charged 111 defendants in 32 cases and obtained 79 convictions involving human trafficking defendants which reflected more than a twofold increase in convictions over the previous year. In April 2006, the Department of Justice obtained two of the longest sentences ever imposed in a sex trafficking case-50 years each for two defendants in New Jersey.
From fiscal years 2001 to 2005, as compared to fiscal years 1996 to 2000, the Justice Department’s trafficking investigations have quadrupled, the number of defendants charged has tripled, and the number of defendants convicted has doubled.
****************
This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available on-line at
www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html