Human Trafficking

The resources available on this page were developed to inform local government staff and elected officials of resources available to assist communities in addressing human trafficking.

• Public Management Bulletin #15: Exploring the Intersections between Local Governments and Human Trafficking: The Local Government Focus Group Project  This bulletin focuses on the business models (or strategies) traffickers use to manage their human trafficking enterprises and reports on focus group discussions with local government officials to determine how greater awareness of these models and their various signs within the community might be incorporated into their daily work.
• Human Trafficking – discussion guide for local government focuse groups This handout shares basic information about human trafficking and can be used for training events.
• Public Management Bulletin #14: Ten Questions about Local Governments: A Primer for Anti–Human Trafficking Advocates The bulletin provides basic guidance to anti–human trafficking advocates to help them navigate city and county governments. While focused on the particular challenge of trafficking, the bulletin provides generic guidance that would help any community advocate better understand government roles, functions, or procedures. (New as of May 29, 2018. See also below)
• Public Management Bulletin #12: Human Trafficking in North Carolina: Strategies for Local Government Officials This bulletin covers ways in which human trafficking can be viewed through the lens of local government. The bulletin begins with a discussion of the basics—what human trafficking is, how it operates, and where it tends to turn up—followed by an examination of human trafficking as a local government concern. The author concludes the bulletin by outlining six strategies that local government leaders can take to address human trafficking in their communities.
• “Common Threads” is a seven-minute video developed by Project NO REST that illustrates how traffickers exploit the vulnerabilities in others.
• Children in Foster Care and Sex Trafficking: New NC Policy to Know About, blog post, Sara DePasquale, published for On the Civil Side on January 29, 2016.  For the last 15 years, there has been an increased awareness of human trafficking in the U.S. That awareness has resulted in various federal and state laws seeking both to prevent human trafficking and protect the victims of human trafficking.  See Trafficking Victims and Protection Act of 2000, 22 U.S.A. Chapter 78(reauthorized in 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2013).
• “Discharge and Dismissal or Conviction of Prostitution Offenses,” Relief from a Criminal Conviction: A Digital Guide to Expunctions, Certificates of Relief, and Other Procedures in North Carolina. (2016) This resource discusses how G.S. 15A-145.6 authorizes the expunction of a discharge and dismissal or a conviction of a prostitution offense.
• Blog Post on Revised Sex Offender Flow Chart (July 2017 Edition) Human trafficking is, in some cases, a crime that requires sex offender registration. This blog post describes recent changes to the Sex Offender Flow Chart (July 2017 Edition).
• Blog Post on Ordinance Enforcement Basics Community development activities may include public nuisance abatement or code enforcement of one kind or another.  It is therefore helpful for community and economic development professionals to know the steps that local governments may take to enforce their ordinances. This blog post describes the basic enforcement options available to cities and counties.