The initial contact between law enforcement, social services or juvenile authorities has a dramatic impact on the survivor. Their experiences can help investigators improve their response to future cases and lay the ground work for providing effective support and assistance to the survivor, while improving the overall investigation and prosecution of the offender.

Participants will be provided with a unique opportunity to talk with and ask questions of a survivor. This facilitated discussion will enable participants to have better understanding of the challenges and fears for victim when they are on the streets or in the system designed to help them.

Societal and system perceptions can have a negative impact on the response for victims of sex trafficking. This module will focus on changing perceptions by providing an understanding of the victim of sex trafficking, and the cumulative trauma leading to their victimization. Participants will also be provided with the recruitment process and control techniques by the trafficker, “Pimp.” With this information participants will be able to develop and implement investigative/Intervention strategies and techniques to identify and locate victims through community partnership, and a multidisciplinary team approach. Case examples will be utilized to illustrate both where mistakes were made and successful intervention and investigative techniques worked.

This module will explore the unique challenges associated with the interrogation of the trafficking suspect, how these interrogations are different from traditional suspect interrogations and effective techniques for the interrogation. Participants will learn how to exploit the suspect weaknesses as well as the challenges with Interviewing the Victim/Offender "Bottom Girl."

As in any investigation, corroborating the criminal investigation is “the name of the game.” This is even more true and critical in the child sex trafficking investigation. Information/evidence gathering, the use of search warrants and types of evidence that can be anticipated in trafficking cases will be the focus of this module. All of these areas are important to the ultimate corroboration of the victim’s statement and must be considered carefully. Participants will also learn how to use the one party consent calls to legally bolster the case. Case examples will be utilized to illustrate where successful corroboration techniques worked.

This training module will provide law enforcement officers and services providers with information on how technology (cells phones, phone chat lines, social networking sites, Internet ads) are used to seduce, lure, and control child victims of prostitution/trafficking. Information will be provided on how to develop successful investigative techniques to proactively identify and locate child victims of prostitution/trafficking, interview recovered victims and corroborate the technology facilitated commercial sexual exploitation investigation. Case studies will be used to facilitate the discussion. Pitfall and challenges to these investigations will also be discussed.

Participants will learn how to implement programs in their community designed to prevent, identify and interdict human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Actual programs and strategies for implementation will be discussed, providing the participant with tools for creating successful programs in their own community.