Human Trafficking In North Carolina

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North Carolina is a Tier 1 source, transit, and destination state due to its coastline, major highways, sports arenas, and military bases. North Carolina received 10 points out of 12, but can still improve its overall ranking by posting the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline information and allow victims to sue their traffickers civilly and receive compensatory damages. Labor trafficking and sexual exploitation are the main forms of human trafficking. Forced labor victims are found in the agriculture, landscaping, construction, and restaurant industries. Sexual trafficking victims are found in the hotels/motels, residential brothels, commercial brothels, online advertisements, and domestic service industries. While North Carolina …show more content…
Often going unnoticed by the general population who is unaware of the extent and signs of trafficking. Larger awareness campaigns must occur for people to recognize and report what they see to hotlines and law enforcement. Per the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, statistics from 2007 to the present record 3,12 total calls to the hotline, 716 total cases investigated, and 1,734 victims identified in North Carolina. The statistics for this year alone is 472 calls received and 140 cases of human trafficking investigated. North Carolina met the minimum standards for enacting strict laws that criminalizes all forms of sexual trafficking. It provides a specific definition that is comparable to TIP standards and includes within its statutes inducement of minors. Applicable sentencing includes life imprisonment if the death of the victim occurs. The statute further includes all commercial sex acts such as prostitution and any sexual act performed in exchange for something of value. North Carolina is one of twenty-six states that further defines coercion, force, and fraud as it relates to sexual trafficking thus broadening the scope of the law. The statute, however …show more content…
It has extended the federal RICO act provisions to be included in its own statutes thereby labeling traffickers as racketeers which then allows for broader investigations of accountants and other parties to be prosecuted. It does not permit wiretapping for law enforcement agencies like the federal act allows. North Carolina permits anti-trafficking training to be conducted with its law enforcement officers, but it does not require such training and does not provide specific standards governing that training. It also allows for the creation of a state task force to address the issue of human trafficking and allows it to evaluate, formulate, and recommend changes to combat human trafficking. It also allows the task force to provide coordination among all law enforcement agencies across the state. North Carolina protects sexually exploited minors through its safe harbor laws. The statutes specifically define who a minor is and includes specific age requirements and gives prosecutorial immunity to those who meet those