OCONTO COUNTY (NBC 26) — The Wisconsin State Patrol is bringing a new approach to crack down on human trafficking during this National Human Trafficking Awareness month.
Most people tend to think that human trafficking is a problem for big cities, or that Wisconsin doesn't have any cases of human trafficking. However, according to numbers in 2021 by the National Human Trafficking Hotline, the hotline received 390 signals in Wisconsin, 111 of which were received by victims or survivors.
But police can’t be everywhere, so they are recruiting commercial truck drivers for help.
Sgt. Andrew Jacobs of the Wisconsin State Patrol says that they have been working with truckers for years on all different types of initiatives.
“They are really our ears on the road, they travel from across the state and even across multiple states, they work all kinds of different hours, and they are at truck stops, so we are trying to work with them,” said Jacobs. “We provide resources, phone numbers, and things to look out for when they are driving around.”
According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, commercial drivers can spend up to 14 hours a day on the road.
As part of their efforts, weighing stations across Wisconsin, inspectors and troopers are armed with hotline cards and bumper stickers with the National Human Trafficking Hotline numbers.
In addition as part of their inspection, each trucker will receive a sex trafficking brief of things to look for and ways to reach out.
The most important information given out to all: if you see something, say something.
According to the Office of Violence Prevention, some common indicators of someone being human trafficked include:
- The person has bruises in multiple stages of healing
- The person is fearful, timid, or submissive in demeanor
- The person appears to be coached on what to say
- The person having a sudden or dramatic change in behavior
- The person being disconnected from family, friends, peers, or community organizations
- The person appears disoriented or confused, or shows signs of physical or mental abuse.
If you feel that you may have identified a victim of human trafficking, you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH) at 1-888-373-7888, text 'HELP' or 'INFO' TO BeFree (233733), or refer to further resources on the DHS Identify a Victim webpage.
