2009 Human Trafficking Task Force Initiative ' Supplemental

Under this award, the Harris County Sheriff's Office will further develop and operate a victim centered human trafficking task force, the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA) in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Federal law enforcement, and their Office for Victims of Crime Human Trafficking Services provider to identify and rescue victims of human trafficking and to proactively investigate human trafficking and prosecute traffickers. The primary goal of this program is to identify and rescue foreign victims of trafficking through a victim centered, proactive investigation strategy. The secondary goal is the interdiction of trafficking and the successful prosecution of traffickers.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office has identified the following seven goals for the HTRA: 1) identify and rescue victims of human trafficking; 2) significant human trafficking cases should be investigated using a collocated task force environment; 3) expand and enhance intelligence bases to assist law enforcement in identifying and rescuing victims of human trafficking; 4) aggressively conduct both proactive and reactive human trafficking investigations; 5) train law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and NGO's regarding human trafficking violations; 6) conduct quarterly HTRA meetings; and 7) explore the possibility of creating a human trafficking law enforcement task force, drawn from the members of the HTRA, wherein multiple agencies are consistently working human trafficking matters full time from one central location. The human trafficking task force would also be a member of the HTRA group.

CA/NCF