By SAMANTHA BEAL
For the Clarion News
It’s a “hidden problem” but a serious problem and it affects even rural area such as Clarion County.
State Rep. Donna Oberlander (R-63) and state police Sgt. Scott Bauer, commander the Clarion barracks, hosted a Feb. 12 town hall-style gathering to inform the public about one poignant topic: human trafficking.
Oberlander explained the night was structured to help community members better understand human trafficking, a “hidden problem” in today’s society.
“We’ve had resolutions (in the House of Representatives) every year to draw attention to this issue,” she said.
The presentation on human trafficking and suspicious behavior was given by Megan Sands, former state police communications specialist and current intelligence analyst for Pennsylvania Criminal Intelligence Center.
“I am trying to shake the tree of complacency,” Sands said at the beginning of her presentation. “(Human trafficking) is happening here. And it can happen in Clarion County. And it can happen to you.”
Defined as modern-day slavery, Sands identified three major factors in the existence of human trafficking: Traffickers monopolize individuals through force, fraud or coercion. While the majority of victims are female (98 percent), the crime can touch anyone. Approximately 86 percent of those trafficked are runaways.
Members of the LGBTQ community — who may feel ostracized and isolated — are especially at risk. The average age of a trafficked victim is 13. But past cases have seen victims as young as 3 months.
Sands noted human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world, cultivating $150 billion annually. In 2017, 117 potential cases were reported in Pennsylvania, making the state the 12th highest in the nation for human trafficking cases.
Trafficking flourishes for a handful of reasons, but one is its ability to operate under cover. With 25 major occupations identified by the United States government as fronts for human trafficking, county residents may face the crime every day.
Door-to-door sales, according to Sands is a particularly common cover. A salesperson who is especially pushy may be acting on behalf of a trafficker. He or she may be forced to fill a sales quota or risk bodily and financial harm, or death. Domestic work is another common trafficking front, as are health and beauty services such as nail salons.
Sands added street gangs are increasingly getting involved in human trafficking instead of drug trafficking: One human can be used longer than a batch of narcotics.
While the list of indicators for a trafficked individual is extensive, the list for how an individual is trafficked is short. Recruitment begins with personalized contact, during which the victim may encounter The Boyfriend.
Boyfriends range from high school students to Craig’s List users, and their primary job is luring potential traffic victims. The Boyfriend, generally an older male, courts the victim by buying food, clothes and novelties as tokens of professed love. These tokens, however, must be paid back at a later time.
Generally, payback comes in the form of prostitution. Victims find themselves coerced into work when they are forced to serve Johns. Once trafficked, victims are usually kept on the Leash: Drugged to remain submissive.
“Work” is generally solicited over the internet, through social media and sites such as Craig’s List and Eros. Backpage.com is particularly tuned to human trafficking. Second to Craig’s List, the site is home to 80 percent of the market for online sex advertisements.
According to Sands, $8 of every $10 spent on Backpage.com advertisement is spent on sex ads.
Traffickers know how to pick their targets for optimal turnover. Sands mentioned the biggest arenas for sexual tourism are the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the Democratic and Republican national conventions, major gas drilling operations — any cataclysmic event that generates money and creates a need for spending.
Government attention over the last few years has shifted to focus on stemming human trafficking. The Pennsylvania Human Trafficking Law of 2014, for instance, makes it easier for law enforcement to curtail private businesses’ involvement in trafficking.
The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017 aims to restrict the abilities of companies such as Backpage.com to operate as trafficking advertisers and middlemen. Pennsylvania House Bill 2029 is pushing to require Johns register as sex offenders, among other things.
Here in Clarion
But how can a citizen of Clarion County take up arms against human trafficking? Sands suggests a willingness to join the fray.
Stopping trafficking depends most on local citizens, who likely face some part of the system each day. While there are a number of things people can be on the look-out for, Sands suggests a few simple approaches.
Be aware. Take account of your surroundings at all times, and make mental notes about abnormalities or patterns. Refusal to make eye-contact, evidence of physical abuse, drug use, seasonally inappropriate clothing and branding might all be indicators of a trafficked victim. Similarly, blueprints and maps, regulated loitering, unattended packages and even suggestive Facebooks posts are signs of suspicious behavior that may indicate a person’s involvement in a radicalized movement. Pay attention when you feel something isn’t right.
Don’t be complacent. If something strikes you as strange or uncomfortable, do something.
Report your suspicions. Bring what you’ve noticed to the attention of those who can help address it. Important things to note about suspicious individuals are gender, age, features, method and direction of travel and activity. Sands added it is good practice to withdraw to a safe location before reporting something.
And finally, discuss emerging threats.
“There are more threats in the U.S. today than there have been at any other time in history,” Sands said.
In a time when most ideas are shared electronically, a person does not need to be somewhere specific to cause harm. Sands explained radicalization can happen in weeks, and it usually happens through encrypted computer message.
This means tracing a source is sometimes impossible for police investigators. And the people who have the most power to prevent a catastrophe are usually those on the “front lines.” That is, normal, every-day citizens.
“You never know what is bubbling beneath the surface,” Sands said.
She added, “All I’m asking you to do is to pay attention to your surroundings.”
To report a terrorism or fugitive tip to the Pennsylvania State Police, call (888) 292-1919. To report drug trafficking, call (877) 726-6378. To report suspicions of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at (888) 373-7888.