Prosecuting Trafficking in Persons Cases: An Analysis of Local Strategies and Approaches, United States, 2009-2018
Description
This project
examined practices and initiatives undertaken by prosecutors across the United
States to address trafficking in persons (TIP) in order to learn about TIP case
identification and case building; when jurisdictions prosecute utilizing their
state's TIP statute or alternative charges; and how prosecutors approach victim
identification, serving victims, and increasing convictions and penalties for
traffickers and buyers. It also sought to draw lessons learned that other
jurisdictions can use to begin this work or increase their capacity and
effectiveness, regardless of size or location. This project was a partnership
between the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA) and the National
District Attorney's Association (NDAA) and consisted of two phases. Phase I was
a national survey of prosecutors and Phase II was a series of four case studies
in jurisdictions undertaking anti-TIP initiatives.
The results of the
survey are intended to provide a national snapshot of trends in local TIP
prosecutions and the use of state-level TIP statutes by local prosecutors. It
serves as a ten-year update to, and expansion of, previous research on local prosecutorial
approaches to trafficking that had used data on cases prosecuted through 2008.