What we are here to do Human trafficking series By Bethany J.

Royer Originally published in the Piqua Daily Call January 27, 201

PIQUA Its frustrating, says Bruce Jamison, chief of police, that his department with hours of training on how to spot human trafficking dont know what to do once the indi idual has !een remo ed from the en ironment" #$he resources are %ust now de eloping to offer them some hope,& continued Jamison, resources that include not only training and awareness, pre ention and education, !ut assisting ictims with healing and restitution in the aftermath" 'hile stating the pro!lem closer to home consists of runaways who are trafficked as se( sla es or prostitutes" #'e ha e had our locals, our people, fall into this"& )etting the stage, Jamison e(plained how youth are often groomed, particularly online and that, #All of a sudden you e met the man of your dreams online, look at how much this guy thinks Im attracti e"& *r youth who lea e home and approached when they are the most ulnera!le" +owe er, $hanks to a partnership !etween the police department and the Pi,ua -'.A, information is getting out to the pu!lic to address the se(ual e(ploitation of youth, or human trafficking" $he recruitment, har!oring, transportation, pro ision or o!taining of a person for the purpose of a commercial se( act, la!or or ser ices, either !y force, fraud or coercion" #'e did a program for social workers, we tied it together with the a!use shelter and the reco ery council !ecause of the trauma and drugs and alcohol so closely tied in,& e(plained /eesa Baker, e(ecuti e director for the Pi,ua -'.A, of a program they hosted last fall, as ictims are often purposely made addicted so as to !e controled !y those who profit from the e(change of se( with a minor, also known as a pimp" Anyone underage is considered trafficked" #$hey are a ictim,& said Baker with the state of *hio pushing legislation in support of ictims while sharing a pre iously mentioned statistic in part one of this continuing series on 01 percent of runaways !eing approached for trafficking within the first 23 hours" #$hats really stuck in my mind and I think people in town can connect to that"& 4mphasi5ing the se erity of the situation, Baker spoke of the -'.A most recent +uman $rafficking Awareness program presented to students at the Upper 6alley .areer .enter with the Allen .ounty .oalition, crime ictim ser ices" *nce more getting education and awareness out into the pu!lic, particuraly those who may fall into the demographic !ecause of their age" $he awareness and education also runs into the community understanding the use of local funds" #It helps when this word gets out there so if we use some of our local resources, itll help the community understand this is part of the %o!,& e(plained Jamison so the community understands their need to spend at least a little !it of time on this issue, to see their in ol ement as a good thing" #It is what we are here to do"&

$hough awareness and discussion is still in its infancy, according to Jamison, word is getting out with January as 7ational )la ery and +uman $rafficking Pre ention month and the *hio +ouse fully endorsing +ouse Bill 891 to com!at human trafficking %ust the !eginning" Bethany J. Royer may be reached at 773-2721 or on Twitter @TheDailyCall