Is It Happening In Your Neighborhood?

(CBS)  Deputy Police Chief Dewey Williams is a 30-year veteran of the Clearwater, Fla., police department. He is the chairperson of the Clearwater Area Task Force on Human Trafficking, a DOJ-funded multi-agency collaboration to combat human trafficking in the Tampa Bay area. The Early Show asked him to tell us how to spot the signs that human trafficking may be taking place right in front us -- in our place of business or our community.


CBS News: What should I look for in my neighborhood?

Dewey Williams: Juvenile girls -- both immigrant and non-immigrant -- in what appear to be sex-oriented businesses or circumstances, who appear to be isolated and unaccompanied by parents or responsible guardians. Victims may be staying in a private home, rarely seen outside, may or may not go to school, with few apparent friends and whose caretaker provides conflicting or illogical explanations. Notify law enforcement of people handing out crudely printed business cards to men in public places that look like some sort of encoded advertisement; these may be advertisements for prostitution involving trafficking victims.

In urban areas, human trafficking manifests itself in commercial sex operations or forced labor in service industries. Be alert for brothels operating out of rental properties in immigrant neighborhoods (apartments, duplexes, mobile homes are common) characterized by heavy traffic by immigrant males in the afternoons and evenings. Most immigrant trafficking prostitution operations are closely intra-cultural.

In restaurants and hotels, look for immigrant workers who work for subcontractors for very low wages, or who reside on the premises and are not free to leave. Social service and health care providers should be especially alert -- and cautious -- for victims seeking services, including those who may be accompanied by their trafficker/pimp posing as a friend. Remember that human trafficking is highly organized crime that moves frequently.


What do you do if you are a trafficking victim or suspect this happened to a friend?

First, remember that the trafficker/pimp is not your friend or your protector. To him, you are nothing more than an income source in a criminal enterprise. The trafficker will lie to you, threaten you and your family, and tell you that you will be arrested or in the case of an immigrant victim, deported.

Even if you are afraid to go home, you should be even more fearful of your current circumstances over which you have no control. Immediately notify law enforcement, a public health organization, a spouse abuse shelter, the local child protection agency, or a refugee service agency.


Know that people who may pretend to be your friend or benefactor may in fact be affiliated with the trafficker. Keep telling your story until someone acts on it -- human trafficking is still not well understood by many in law enforcement and non-governmental organizations.

Once you connect with law enforcement, cooperate fully and provide complete and truthful information; do not lie about your age. You should be provided access to a victim advocate who understands your situation and, if necessary, speaks your language.

What can the community do?

Learn about the causes and symptoms of human trafficking; learn how human trafficking is manifested in local neighborhoods and businesses; learn the warning signs of both domestic and immigrant trafficking; report suspicious activity to law enforcement and get involved with your local victim service providers and task forces.

All federal task forces -- including the Department of Justice Human Trafficking Task Forces and the FBI Innocence Lost Task Forces -- have the capacity to provide public presentations for civic groups, answer questions and receive tips and referrals. Politically, support stronger regulations and policing of the commercial sex trade, more and better law enforcement training on human trafficking at all levels, improved border security, and additional federal prosecutorial resources. Support efforts that encourage political and legal reforms in countries where trafficking originates.