Despite public attention to the problem of human trafficking, it has proven difficult to measure the problem. Improving the quality of information about human trafficking is critical to developing sound anti-trafficking policy. In support of this effort, in 2013 the Federal Bureau of Investigation incorporated human trafficking offenses in the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Despite this achievement, there are many reasons to expect the UCR program to underreport human trafficking. Law enforcement agencies struggle to identify human trafficking and distinguishing it from other crimes. Additionally, human trafficking investigations may not be accurately classified in official data sources. Finally, human trafficking presents unique challenges to summary and incident-based crime reporting methods. For these reasons, it is important to understand how agencies identify and report human trafficking cases within the UCR program and what part of the population of human trafficking victims in a community are represented by UCR data. This study provides critical information to improve law enforcement identification and reporting of human trafficking. Coding criminal incidents investigated as human trafficking offenses in three US cities, supplemented by interviews with law and social service stakeholders in these locations, this study answers the following research questions: How are human trafficking cases identified and reported by the police? What sources of information about human trafficking exist outside of law enforcement data? What is the estimated disparity between actual instances of human trafficking and the number of human trafficking offenses reported to the UCR?

This study by the Coalition Against Trafficking Women was the first to research both contemporary international and domestic trafficking of women for sexual exploitation in the United States and to include primary research information from interviews with trafficked and prostituted women in the sex industry. Telephone and personal interviews were conducted with people who had experience with or knowledge of sex trafficking in the United States. This data collection consists of the verbatim questions and responses from the following groups of individuals who were interviewed: (1) international and United States women who had been or were in the sex industry in the United States, (2) law enforcement officials who had experience and expertise in sex-industry related cases or immigration, (3) social service workers who provided services to women in prostitution or might have come into contact with women from the sex industry and those providing services to immigrant populations, and (4) health care workers who provided services to women in prostitution or who may have come into contact with women in the sex industry. The research framework was developed to follow the path of trafficked women from their hometown, through their experiences in the sex industry, to their present place in life. Information was collected on trafficked women's backgrounds, roles and activities while in the sex industry, how they were controlled, and how they coped with their situations. Respondents were also asked about experiences with recruiters, traffickers, pimps, and customers. Additional information was gathered on the respondents' views on policies regarding trafficking and prostitution, the organization of the sex industry, and health and legal aspects of the business. Questionnaires for each group of interviewees were constructed according to the topics about which each group would most likely have knowledge or experience.

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed. This study examined life histories and experiences of individuals involved in the sex trade in New York City. Also interviewed were twenty-eight criminal justice policymakers, practitioners, and community representatives affiliated with New York City's Human Trafficking Intervention Courts (HTICs). The collection contains 1 SPSS data file (Final-Quantitative-Data-resubmission.sav (n=304; 218 variables)). Demographic variables include gender, age, race, ethnicity, education level, citizenship status, current housing, family size, sexual orientation, and respondent's place of birth.

This project examined practices and initiatives undertaken by prosecutors across the United States to address trafficking in persons (TIP) in order to learn about TIP case identification and case building; when jurisdictions prosecute utilizing their state's TIP statute or alternative charges; and how prosecutors approach victim identification, serving victims, and increasing convictions and penalties for traffickers and buyers. It also sought to draw lessons learned that other jurisdictions can use to begin this work or increase their capacity and effectiveness, regardless of size or location. This project was a partnership between the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA) and the National District Attorney's Association (NDAA) and consisted of two phases. Phase I was a national survey of prosecutors and Phase II was a series of four case studies in jurisdictions undertaking anti-TIP initiatives. The results of the survey are intended to provide a national snapshot of trends in local TIP prosecutions and the use of state-level TIP statutes by local prosecutors. It serves as a ten-year update to, and expansion of, previous research on local prosecutorial approaches to trafficking that had used data on cases prosecuted through 2008.

The study examined human trafficking and the commercialized sex industry in Tijuana, Mexico. The research team conducted interviews with 220 women from the sex industry (Dataset 1), 92 sex trade facilitators (Dataset 2), 30 government/law enforcement officials (Dataset 3), and 20 community-based service providers (Dataset 4).

Commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) is an increasingly urgent problem for criminal justice systems in the United States. Despite the staggering individual and societal consequences of CSE, evidence-based prevention and intervention programs are profoundly lacking. This study used a quasi-experimental, mixed methods, longitudinal follow-up design to evaluate a service provision program for CSE survivors or those identified as high-risk for CSE, My Life My Choice (MLMC). Researchers followed youth who received MLMC services from baseline to multiple follow-up points to see how they progressed over time in terms of building up resistance to being sexually exploited. Youth received one of two different type of MLMC services. One group (Source 1) received one-on-one survivor mentoring, otherwise known as "tertiary prevention." Participants in this program are paired with mentors who have been trained and free from CSE for at least five years. Mentors provide long-term and consistent emotional support to exploited youth or those MLMC believes are at high-risk for exploitation. The Source 1 youth were recruited only from Massachusetts. They participated in quantitative and qualitative data collection at baseline, six months post-baseline, and 12 months post-baseline. A second group (Source 2) received 3-10 sessions of a psychoeducational prevention group following the MLMC curriculum, otherwise known as "secondary prevention." These groups are led by trained facilitators and are intended for youth at high-risk for exploitation. Participants are taught about sexual exploitation, healthy relationships, sexual health, and how to find help. Source 2 youth received MLMC services in Massachusetts, Florida, New Jersey, or Connecticut. They participated in quantitative data collection at baseline, time of the last group session, and six months post-baseline. Measured outcomes included instances of sexual exploitation in the past six months, frequency and type of substance use, partner abuse victimization, and housing stability. Researchers hypothesized that, among the secondary prevention group, youth who chose to interact with MLMC staff more often (in terms of attending educational sessions) would score higher on desired outcomes than those frequently absent or who do not interact with staff as often. Among the tertiary prevention group, researchers hypothesized that those who participated would demonstrate improved outcomes from baseline to six months and baseline to 12 months.