HUMAN TRAFFICKING RED FLAGS

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery. Traffickers use force, fraud and coercion to control their victims. Any minor engaged in commercial sex is a victim of human trafficking. While the initial purchase of victims may occur online, the real-time sale of victims can happen in many locations, including truck stops, restaurants, rest areas, hotels/motels, strip clubs, private homes, etc.

Professional drivers are the eyes and ears of our nation’s highways. If you see a minor working any of those areas or suspect that the person selling sex is under someone else’s control in order to make a quota, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline and report a tip. If you are witnessing a crime in progress, please call 911.

What to look for:

            • Lack of knowledge of their whereabouts; not in control of ID/passport
            • Restricted or controlled communication – not allowed to speak for self
            • CB chatter about “commercial company” or flashing lights signaling “buyer” location
            • Acknowledgment of a pimp and making a quota
            • A van or RV that seems out of place out by trucks; a vehicle dropping someone off at a truck and picking them up 15-20 minutes later
Warning: Please do not approach traffickers.
Allow law enforcement to deal with traffickers and recover victims. Approaching traffickers is not only dangerous for you and their victims but could lead to problems in the eventual prosecution of traffickers.

While on the job, local drivers may encounter human trafficking situations on the road and in the neighborhood. Below we have listed some specific red flag indicators for both. If human trafficking is ever suspected, please make an anonymous call to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-3737-888. If you are witnessing a crime in progress, please call 911.

On the Move

Whether loading or unloading, parked on a break or to fuel up, keep an eye out for the following red flags …

  • Any time you see a minor engage in a commercial sex act
  • Any time you believe you are witnessing someone under the control of a pimp, regardless of the age or gender of the victim
  • If a passenger vehicle pulls into the truck parking area of a rest area or truck stop and multiple people (usually females) get out of the vehicle and begin going from truck to truck
  • Any time you hear a suspected victim mentioning that he/she has to make a quota
  • People that seem to have a lack of knowledge of their surroundings or area
  • Someone that appears to have restricted or controlled communication or is unable to speak for her/himself
  • Suspected victims that have signs of branding (tattooing that would indicate ownership of a particular trafficker)

In the Neighborhood … around residences and businesses

Wherever your route takes you, when you’re in and around homes, apartment complexes and local businesses, keep an eye out for the following red flags …

  • Lots of traffic (different cars and typically men) coming in and out of one particular residence or business
  • Extreme security measures on homes and businesses that appear out of place
    • Barred or covered windows
    • Barbed wire
    • Exterior cameras covering multiple angles
    • Locked front doors with entrances in the alley
  • If your job takes you inside a place of business, keep an eye out for workers who appear to live there.
  • If you approach a residence or business, pay attention to what you’re hearing … is there any shouting taking place? Are threats being made? Do you hear anyone asking for help?
  • Pay attention to any potential victims that may be visible. Do you see anyone who looks distressed or upset, crying or fearful?

Rideshare drivers

Rideshare drivers should pay attention to those in their vehicles especially … as sometimes their services are used to transport victims in between dates …

  • Do you hear talk about a pimp or needing to make a quota?
  • Does the individual seem distressed at all?
  • If they are with someone else, do you detect any coercion?
  • Does the person look underaged?
  • From a labor trafficking perspective, when picking up meals from a restaurant, do you observe any employees who always seem to be working or always being watched?
  • Have you observed if the employees are able to move about freely and leave the premises if they so choose?
  • If you’re able to speak with them, you can ask them if they are free to leave, feel safe or need your help. Pay particular attention to their demeanor … do they seem nervous talking to you? Are they even free to strike up a conversation?

There are four main scenarios in which moving and home delivery companies may be exposed to human trafficking. Below we have broken down each and listed some specific red flag indicators for each one. If human trafficking is ever suspected, please make an anonymous call to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-3737-888. If you are witnessing a crime in progress, call 911.

On the Move

Whether the van operator is an OTR driver, or operating regionally/locally, many of the same red flags apply:

  • Any time you see a minor engage in a commercial sex act
  • Any time you believe you are witnessing someone under the control of a pimp, regardless of the age or gender of the victim
  • If a passenger vehicle pulls into the truck parking area of a rest area or truck stop and multiple people (usually females) get out of the vehicle and begin going from truck to truck
  • Any time you hear a suspected victim mentioning that he/she has to make a quota
  • People that seem to have a lack of knowledge of their surroundings or area
  • Someone that appears to have restricted or controlled communication or is unable to speak for her/himself
  • Suspected victims that have signs of branding (tattooing that would indicate ownership of a particular trafficker)

Labor Trafficking: Evidence of domestic servitude

Red flag indicators of potential labor trafficking may look like:

  • A bedroom or area separate from the rest of the family home that appears to be in a different condition (i.e., different standard of living, cleanliness, number of personal effects, etc.) than the other family bedrooms
      • Is there a mattress on the floor (or substandard arrangement) in the basement or garage that appears to be the bedroom area of a particular “family member”?
      • Are there multiple people living in close quarters that seem to have a different standard of living than other people in the household?
  • Evidence of excessive security at the home
  • A bedroom or part of the home that has a lock on the outside of the room, rather than the inside
  • Evidence that appears to indicate the person is only a guest in the home
  • Certain people at the property who are not as engaging as others in the family, as if they have been told not (or are unable) to communicate with the movers

Sex Trafficking: Residential brothel or home of exploitation

Movers and home delivery personnel may have the opportunity to witness signs of human trafficking taking place at a residential brothel or home of exploitation by either physically entering the home or noticing red flags going on in a neighborhood in which you are working. Red flags may look like:

Within the home of the job:

  • Evidence of bedrooms with locks on the outside of the door
  • An unusual amount of pornographic material or pornographic material that is overt and in your face
  • Evidence of lots of condoms (either new or used), especially in rooms that appear to be bedrooms of minor children
  • Evidence of video equipment in bedrooms or closets adjacent to bedrooms, especially bedrooms of minors
  • Overt evidence of drugs and/or weapons
  • Children that, when engaged, are not shy about using explicit language or bragging about sexual activity
  • Potential victims that have signs of branding

In the neighborhood of the job:

  • Lots of traffic (typically men) in and out of one particular residence over the course of the move
  • Extreme security measures at that particular home that appear out of place

Sex Trafficking: Home occupied by a trafficker and the women they are exploiting

Movers and home delivery personnel may also have the opportunity to notice human trafficking red flags if the job they are at is the home of the trafficker and his victim(s). In these situations, red flags may be:

  • Evidence of drugs/weapons
  • Evidence of porn and/or lots of condoms
  • A house with minimal furniture, especially in the bedrooms
  • Bedrooms that lack any personality or personal effects of the occupant
      • Does the occupant seem like a guest in the home?
      • Is the room sparsely furnished with perhaps only a suitcase of clothes in the room or the closet?
  • Windowless bedrooms or odd traffic patterns to the home (i.e., victims occupying back bedrooms that would have to pass by another bedroom that the suspected trafficker may occupy)
  • Multiple women’s clothing either in one bedroom or all bedrooms
      • Traffickers have also been known to keep the nicer, “working” clothes of their victims within their own bedrooms, so that they can dictate what a woman wears before going out
  • Multiple women in the home at the time of the move, perhaps trying to sleep during the mid-day move
  • Potential victims that have signs of branding

TAKEAWAYS

It is important to remember that this crime knows no racial, gender, or socioeconomic bounds when it comes to who could be the victims and also who could be the perpetrators. One red flag on its own may not mean anything, but if you are noticing multiple red flags or other parts of the story don’t add up, please make an immediate call to the national hotline. We recognize that drivers are not social workers, nor are we asking you to be. But if things don’t add up and multiple red flag indicators are present, please take a second look and be willing to make a call.

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