ADP Prospectus

           For my historical conversation project, I addressed the flaws of the United States’ anti-human trafficking laws especially targeting the Trafficking Protection Act of 2000 as it presented itself as an accurate and complete representation of the defectiveness of the law system. For my advocacy project, I intend to propose a solution that would alleviate the inadequacy and increase the effectives of the laws—the education of law enforcement officers and the public.

           The two main sources I used for my HCP was the Creighton Law Review and the McGeorge Law Review. Both proposed a similar solution that they believe to be the key of combating the flaws of the anti-human trafficking laws –education of law enforcement officers and the public with models and knowledge of the nature of human trafficking. According to McGeorge Law Review written by Allison Cross, the knowledge of law enforcement officers directly ties to the effectiveness of enforcing anti-human trafficking laws since law enforcement officers are generally in the best position to interrupt the trafficking cycle, and it is essential that officers know how to recognize human trafficking. However, she also explained how trafficking training is far from universally required, as only seven states require all law enforcement officers undergo human-trafficking training. Failure to train officers to recognize situations they will likely encounter during the course of their duties is a waste of precious resources. Also, Cross states that law-enforcement training absent any statutory mandate may result in the officers receiving insufficient information on the subject. Lastly, Cross mentions that in addition to ensuring law-enforcement officers are well informed and prepared to recognize trafficking and provide victim assistance, the mobile nature of human trafficking renders it particularly important that all law enforcement officers receive uniform training. Shelly George, editor of the Creighton Law Review, offers similar views as Cross as well. George states how educating the personnel of law enforcement agencies, first responders, and government offices as to what sex trafficking entails and teaching them what sex trafficking looks like, what it does not look like, and how to properly and appropriately identify a victim of sex trafficking should be the key focuses of law enforcement officer trainings. George not only limits the education to law enforcement officers but emphasizes the importance of public awareness as well as she states “if we are able to raise awareness and educate those in positions to make a difference for those bound by the chains of slavery, we can make a dent in this multi-billion dollar industry”.

           I intend to further my research on the education and training of law enforcement officers and the public through other different sources. I intend to use the UCI library Academic Search Complete with key words such as “education”, “training”, and “anti-human trafficking”, as it will offer me sources that specially focus on the details of my solution. I anticipate problems such as mixing up the differences between the education that should be provided to law enforcement officers and to the public. As a result, it is very important for me to categorize and organize my sources first and separate them into the two main focuses to further my analysis.