Tell me which of these scenarios would most make you care.


A) A brutal crime is happening in your community.

B) A brutal crime is happening... somewhere. We're not really sure where.


I'm guessing your answer is A. But the U.S. Department of Justice seems to hope you'll be just as educated and empowered to act under B.

The real topic here is human trafficking. The justice department issued a report last month discussing this crime — which disproportionally affects women and helps fuel the sex trade and slave labor — and the rates of occurrence in the United States. You can find the report here.

But the report never breaks down the statistics to tell us how much this is happening from region to region and state to state. Utah has a justice department-funded task force and advocacy group to fight human trafficking, yet when I called the justice department to ask for Utah statistics, I was told they aren't available.

It's reasonable to know whether — or how much — we need to monitor human trafficking in Utah. It's one thing when a brutal crime occurs in some abstract setting. It's another thing when it happens where you live.

Below is a Freedom of Information Act request aimed at learning how much to care. Click here for a guide on signs someone you know may be trafficking victim.

— NC


* The photo is from a Michigan State University program discussing human trafficking.

HumanTraffickingFOIA.pdf

Labels: FOIA