In a significant stride to fiercely combat the persistent issue of human trafficking, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO), in partnership with Arizona State University's Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research (STIR), has recently showcased the successes of their joint initiatives. This partnership involves comprehensive training to better detect and investigate human sex trafficking cases within the community, as reported by FOX 10 Phoenix.
The alliance, which was forged back in 2018 and has since trained over 300 sheriff's office employees, is particularly notable for its "Sex Trafficking Behind Bars" course. This program has been crucial, not only in identifying victims but also in pinpointing suspects of trafficking within the jail system. As per the MCSO, a groundbreaking questionnaire on a tablet has been used to identify inmates who potentially are victims of sex trafficking, as detailed by 12 News.
Sheriff Russ Skinner emphasized the intensity of the problem, "Human trafficking, and sex trafficking continue to plague our community," as stated by 12 News. The issue spans not just Maricopa County but exhibits a haunting ubiquitous presence. Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, MSW, Ph.D., director of STIR, further accentuated the harsh reality in her statement, "Human trafficking happens every single day in every city in the United States."
Sheriff Skinner's office has made it clear: The goal is to break the harrowing cycle of exploitation. "A lot of times sex trafficking involves prostitution. What we want to identify is, is this someone who has been lured into sex trafficking," Skinner stated. The focus is on extending a lifeline—to pull these individuals out of the bleak vortex of coercive circumstances and provide a passage toward rehabilitation and healing.
