Human trafficking in Michigan: Officials host roundtable to raise awareness
Top prosecutors in Michigan are raising awareness about human trafficking, with her office wanting people to know it is not always what you may think it is.
What they're saying:
On Friday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel hosted a discussion about human trafficking as January was National Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
"When you’re looking at the numbers, when you are looking at this information about human trafficking—you are literally looking at the tip of an iceberg. But the bulk of what is out there is underneath the surface," said Assistant Attorney General Melissa Palepu.
Challenges often arise when authorities try to build a case to prosecute possible human traffickers.
"We’ve seen the failures in the court system, and in many of those failures, it brings to light the importance of having the very best laws on the books," said Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Human traffickers prey on their victims by gaining their trust and then manipulating, coercing, and isolating them.
"A lot of the traffickers are somebody that the victim knows, and so that's what I am seeing with labor trafficking specifically, is that it is an employer that is trafficking them, but it’s a lot of family that is also trafficking family."
Big picture view:
In Oakland County, Sheriff Mike Bouchard said 61-year-old Damon Napier was arrested for trafficking two women in metro Detroit. Both cases happened in Oakland and Macomb Counties.
It's the first arrest due to the new Oakland County Human Trafficking Taskforce. The sheriff said the taskforce involves a team effort of not just law enforcement, but the community.
People can look out for signs of trafficking by being aware of the signs and symptoms. If you see somebody acting in a certain way, cowering, submissive, doesn't have the ability to move about alone, and doesn't have their own identification, call the officials.
The Source: FOX 2 used information from previous stories and the roundtable discussion.
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