19 proposals in report on human trafficking

The state should provide funding to train law enforcement agencies and others in fighting human trafficking and create a board to focus on the issue, according to the final report from the attorney general's task force on human trafficking.

The report includes 19 recommendations to improve the state's response to human trafficking and expand services to victims, which also included requiring that signs with information on the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline be posted in more public places. The report was presented to a joint legislative committee Wednesday.

The 40-member task force was created with the passage of the Human Trafficking Act of 2013 and included law enforcement, service providers and several government agencies.

Chief Deputy Attorney General Brad Phelps told legislators that nearly 80 percent of the law enforcement agencies that responded to surveys from the task force reported that human trafficking was a growing problem, but that only one-third had received any training regarding human trafficking in the past two years.

The survey also found that only 40 percent of law enforcement agencies felt that the needs of trafficking victims were adequately met by the current services provided in the state, he said.

"The survey responses suggest that our current system is not adequate to meet the challenge of human trafficking in our state," Phelps said.

Phelps said the report would draw more attention to the issue of human trafficking. He said he thought that the criminal justice system in the state would be improved with more people knowing the facts about the crime.

"The goal with this report was to simply put everyone on notice in the criminal justice system, be it a judge, a prosecutor, even a public defender ... that this is an issue that you need to be aware of," Phelps said.

Sen. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff, chairman of the Senate Children and Youth Committee, said legislators would be given some time to review the report and that there would be another meeting next month where members could ask questions.

Rep. David Meeks, R-Conway, who was one of the sponsors of the 2013 legislation, questioned whether the recommendations made by the task force would improve the state's ranking with the Polaris Project. The group tracks human trafficking legislation around the country and lists Arkansas as one of 32 states with laws providing the most services to victims and preventing the crime.

Arkansas also was recognized as one of the four "most improved" states in the country in 2013 with the passage of the Human Trafficking Act.

Meeks said he wanted the attorney general's office to begin drafting legislation for lawmakers to review leading up to next year's session.

Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, who sponsored the human trafficking bill in the Senate, said the legislation that created the task force had been in the works for several years. Elliott sponsored Act 2267 of 2005, which made human trafficking a Class A felony, and that law was expanded in 2013.

"We couldn't get legislators to take it seriously, but I think it's important in the history for the folks in Arkansas to know we didn't just discover this in 2013, but we've really had it on our radar for quite some time," Elliott said.

Other recommendations made by the committee include:

• Funding human trafficking training programs for Department of Human Services caseworkers and members of the criminal justice system, including judges and public defenders.

• Creating a pilot program to "educate those charged and/or convicted of soliciting the services of prostitute[s] and other related offenses about the effects of prostitution."

• Requiring a statewide survey of law enforcement agencies and service providers on human trafficking every two years.

• Requiring people convicted of human trafficking to register as sex offenders.

Metro on 08/14/2014

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