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Human-Trafficking Offenses Handled by State Attorneys General Offices, 2018

NCJ Number
254803
Date Published
March 2021
Annotation

This report details the information reported by state attorneys general offices in 43 states, the District of Columbia, and 3 territories on their human trafficking laws in 2018.

Abstract

This report details the information reported by state attorneys general offices in 43 states, the District of Columbia, and 3 territories on their human-trafficking laws in 2018. The report describes the jurisdiction of state attorneys general offices over labor- and sex-trafficking offenses, their prosecution of human-trafficking offenses, and their staffing or resources to handle human-trafficking cases. It also describes offices that provide victim services, train other entities to recognize and combat human trafficking, and participate in human-trafficking task forces.

Highlights

Among responding state attorneys general offices in 2018—

  • Offices in 26 states, American Samoa, and Guam reported having only criminal jurisdiction, 14 states and the Northern Mariana Islands reported civil and criminal jurisdiction, 2 states reported only civil jurisdiction, and 1 state and the District of Columbia reported no jurisdiction over labor-trafficking cases.
  • Thirty states, American Samoa, and Guam reported having only criminal jurisdiction, 11 states and the Northern Mariana Islands reported civil and criminal jurisdiction, 1 state reported only civil jurisdiction, and 1 state and the District of Columbia reported no jurisdiction over sex-trafficking cases.
  • Human-trafficking cases were most commonly referred to attorneys general offices by state and local police departments.
  • More offices reported prosecuting human-trafficking cases involving individual offenders than offenders that were businesses or groups of individuals.

 

Date Published: March 23, 2021