Then, there’s the case of the girl who was taken from a Dallas Mavericks game at American Airlines Center in 2022 and found in Oklahoma. According to The Dallas Morning News, the girl was found 10 days later, after illicit photos and an advertisement for sex were posted online.
Human trafficking is defined by the Attorney General’s office as the exploitation of men, women and children for forced labor or sex by a third party for profit or gain. It can take the form of labor trafficking, sex trafficking or human smuggling, said Devon Palk, DPD major over the special investigations division, at this week’s Public Safety Committee meeting.
Certain people are at a higher risk of being trafficked. “But there’s no single profile,” he said. “Victims of human trafficking can be anyone regardless of race, color, national origin, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or citizenship status.”
A 2016 study by the University of Texas at Austin showed the impact of human trafficking across the state. It found that 79,000 minors and youth are victims of sex trafficking in Texas. About 234,000 workers are victims of labor trafficking. Traffickers exploit their victims of labor trafficking to the tune of about $600 million. Additionally, minor and youth sex trafficking costs the state $6.6 billion annually, according to the study.
In Dallas, two teams of officers investigate human trafficking cases. The human trafficking squad of the special investigations division investigates adult human trafficking. The high-risk victim and trafficking squad of the special victims division investigates juvenile human trafficking. Both teams investigate trafficking, smuggling and the promotion of prostitution.
Trafficking investigations can start in a number of ways. Victims may make a cry for help, for example, and there's a human trafficking hotline and Child Protective Services (CPS) referrals. This type of trafficking is investigated through undercover operations, interviews and the execution of search and arrest warrants, while police also work with advocates for victim placement and services, Palk said.
Over the last three years, there has been an increase in adult human trafficking cases in Dallas. From 49 trafficking cases in 2021, the number shot up to 142 the following year and 157 cases in 2023. The number of prostitution cases has more than doubled since 2021.“Victims of human trafficking can be anyone..." – Devon Palk, Dallas Police Department
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Palk said the increase can be attributed to the trafficking squad having more resources, as well as an increased caseload due to a partnership with Homeland Security. There’s also been an increase in the number of victims who received services from the department, such as housing, medical attention, food and clothing. In 2021, just two victims of human trafficking were connected to services. Last year, there were 37. No prostitution victims received services in 2021 or 2022, but 16 received those services last year.
Palk shared one success story that came out of DPD’s human trafficking work. He said a victim who reached out to the department last year had been trafficked starting at about the age of 16. She had been trafficked and physically abused for several years before coming forward.
“The victim was wanting to receive services but was unable to join a program due to having a dog, which was basically this victim’s whole life,” Palk said. DPD was able to start a partnership with a group called the Street Dog Project, which focuses on rescuing dogs from the streets in Dallas, enabling the victim to move forward.
“The victim was eventually able to testify against her trafficker who was found guilty," he said in the meeting. "That victim is currently finishing her GED and working on attending a trade school.”
He said the department could not do the human trafficking work it does without partnerships like these.
Lieutenant Cyrus Zafrani, the commander of DPD’s crimes against children unit, which includes the high-risk victim and trafficking squad, told the committee the primary goal of the squad is to identify and recover victims under the age of 18 and arrest their perpetrators. The squad recovered 99 trafficking victims in 2023.
Juveniles are considered at high risk for being trafficked if they have run away for more than 30 consecutive days or more than four times in a 12-month period. Runaways who are 12 or younger and children with two or more incidents of sexual abuse or exploitation are also considered to be at high risk.
That squad investigated 290 juvenile trafficking cases in 2021, arresting 82 people, recovering 81 victims and connecting them to services. Last year, the squad investigated 235 juvenile trafficking cases, arresting 74 people, recovering 99 victims and connecting them to services.
Zafrani said a big part of combating juvenile trafficking is education and outreach. That’s why the unit has a full-time education and outreach officer who develops and schedules presentations on cyber safety topics, child sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking recognition. The officer gives these presentations to teenagers, teachers, coaches, caregivers, parents and community leaders. Last year, the officer conducted 257 presentations with more than 13,500 attendees.
Jacob Allen, data analytics administrator for the Office of Data Analytics and Business Intelligence, introduced the committee to a new human trafficking dashboard, a collaboration between the Office of Data Analytics and Business Intelligence, DPD and local advocacy groups. The overall goal of the dashboard is to provide education, increase awareness and showcase efforts to combat human trafficking.
Jennifer Reed, a data analyst for the Office of Data Analytics and Business Intelligence, said at the committee meeting that the dashboard will be updated daily to include data from DPD and partner organizations. It will record the location of human trafficking and the number of offenses, as well as victim demographics. “Our hope is that awareness of these impacted groups can lead to more human trafficking being recognized and thus stopped,” Reed said.
Before the Public Safety Committee meeting on Monday, City Council member Gay Donnell Willis hosted a luncheon for those working to tackle human trafficking. Guests from law enforcement, the medical community and many nonprofits were in attendance. Representatives from Sen. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz’s offices were there too, along with state rep. Terry Meza.
Palk said these events are helpful and needed to spread awareness about human trafficking.
“I’m a believer in plugging all of those working on this critical issue into City Hall so we can make things happen, whether it’s funding, policy, convening partners, etc.,” Willis, chair of the city’s Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking Advisory Council, told the Observer by email. Willis also sits on the Public Safety Committee. She said she was surprised by the number of traffickers DPD is arresting.
“Looking at the number of cases is hard for me because it’s hard to know what the total universe of cases is — are we doing really well, or does it represent a fraction of what’s out there?” Willis said. She hopes the new human trafficking dashboard will help shed light on the reality of the problem in Dallas.
