The Laker/Lutz News

Liana Dean

Public service campaign targets human trafficking

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Law enforcement agencies and the Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking have teamed up to launch a public awareness campaign to target human trafficking.

Three public service announcement videos highlight aspects of the problem.

One video focuses on traffickers; another, on sex buyers; and the third, on human trafficking victims.

The five law enforcement agencies in Pasco County — the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and the police departments in Zephyrhills, New Port Richey, Port Richey and Dade City — all joined in on the effort.

The videos feature Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco, Zephyrhills Police Chief Derek Brewer, New Port Richey Police Chief Kim Bogart, Port Richey Police Chief Cyrus Robinson and Dade City Police Chief James Walters.

The videos were set to be released on all participating agencies’ social media platforms on Oct. 7.

These PSAs highlight Pasco County law enforcement’s unified front in combating human trafficking,” Liana Dean, chair of the Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking, said in a release.

“This crime will not be tolerated in Pasco, and if you’re trafficking or buying sex, law enforcement will track you down,” Dean said.

The PSAs also address human trafficking victims and survivors directly – assuring them that law enforcement cares about them and letting them know help and resources are available.

“The commission is honored to continue to work with our law enforcement partners on this project, and we are extremely grateful for its help and support,” Dean said.

To report human trafficking or to ask for help, call 911 or the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

Here are the links to the PSAs on YouTube.

Published October 13, 2021

Continuing to make strides against human trafficking

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Pasco County has made strides in combating human trafficking, but statistics continue to paint a sobering picture about the prevalence of the problem.

Some of those statistics were reported during the Pasco County Commission’s Jan. 7 meeting, where commissioners praised local efforts that are being made to battle the problem, and passed a resolution declaring January as National Slavery and Human Traffic Prevention Month, to cast a spotlight on the issue. Commissioners also declared Jan. 11 as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

Liana Dean, chair of the Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking, thanked commissioners for their support.

“Human trafficking continues to be an ongoing problem, both in the state of Florida and here in Pasco County,” Dean said. “In 2018, Florida again ranked third in the nation in the number of cases of human trafficking.”

Dean gave commissioners an overview of what the human trafficking commission has been doing in its attempt to take aim at the problem.

“We have continued with our efforts to educate and make the community aware. We have trained over 10,000 people in Pasco County and across the state on the issue. We’ve spoken at forums across the state, most recently at the Human Trafficking Summit in Orlando.

“We also have reached more than 1.5 million people with our marketing and advertising campaign.

“We led the state in terms of getting human trafficking curriculum into schools, for which I would like to thank our superintendent for his partnership in that effort,” she said.

Pasco County was a year ahead of the state in getting curriculum about the problem into its public schools.

“We are also working ahead in addressing the Super Bowl, that will be in Tampa in 2021,” Dean said. “So, we will be launching several campaigns around educating the public about that, and preventing trafficking from happening here in Pasco County, and partnering with other trafficking task forces in the area, and also supporting law enforcement efforts to arrest traffickers and buyers of sex trafficking here in the area.”

County Commissioner Ron Oakley praised the human trafficking commission’s efforts.

“I’m telling you, they’ve been nationally acclaimed for all of the good work that they’ve done,” Oakley said. “I think they have people who want to copy us because they’ve done such a good job, as the Human Trafficking Commission, here in Pasco County.”

Published January 15, 2020

Broadening the battle against human trafficking

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Pasco County Public Transportation employees are learning how to identify human trafficking victims in an effort to expand the battle on human trafficking.

Pasco County Public Transportation is partnering with the Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking and the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking to train all bus drivers on how to properly identify and report potential cases of human trafficking, which is essentially modern slavery, according to a Pasco County news release.

The PCPT bus drivers, like Stormy Byrd, will receive training on how to identify possible cases of human trafficking. (Courtesy of Pasco County)

“It’s important for all transit employees to be aware of their frontline support role in combating human trafficking,” PCPT Director Kurt Scheible said, in the release.  “Our partnership with the Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking and USIAHT will provide PCPT employees with critical training to identify vulnerable victims and help prevent this in our community.”

Bus operators and customer service agents will be trained on how to identify and report suspicious behavior.

Pasco County bus drivers will receive cards outlining trafficking indicators, protocols to follow if they suspect human trafficking, and the National Human Trafficking Hotline number: (888) 373-7888.

Each bus will display an informational placard and have victim resource cards available for riders to take if they need help. This campaign is expected to reach over 60,000 people every month.

“Eradicating human trafficking is not something any one organization can do alone,” said Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking Chair Liana Dean.  “This is a problem that’s going to take all of us to solve, which is why it’s so important that collaborations like this exist.”

Human trafficking is a growing problem worldwide, with an estimated 40 million men, women and children trapped in modern slavery, according to the International Labor Organization.  Florida consistently ranks third nationally in the number of calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

To learn more about Pasco County Public Transportation, including bus routes, transportation news and schedules, visit the PCPT website at RidePCPT.com. To learn more about the Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking, visit bit.ly/PascoHTCommission.

Published June 05, 2019

Sex traffickers use social media to lure victims

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As the use and popularity of social media continue to grow — particularly among youths — they also are a go-to forum for human sex traffickers to lure potential victims.

At least that’s what panelists conveyed during a recent human trafficking awareness seminar at Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, in Wesley Chapel.

About 300 people attended a recent human trafficking awareness seminar at
Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch. Much of the discussion focused on online recruitment tactics of sex traffickers. Panelists included Pasco County Superintendent Kurt Browning, Pasco Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Alan Wilkett, Paving the Way CEO Jan Edwards, Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking chair Liana Dean, and Christine Ashurst, a human trafficking survivor. (Kevin Weiss)

Pasco Sheriff Cpl. Alan Wilkett, who was one of the panelists, said his agency has a running list of about 40 websites, games and apps that can be used and exploited by sex traffickers for recruiting and grooming purposes, especially to reach minors.

“It used to be parks and malls, and playgrounds and ballfields,” Wilkett said, but now human traffickers are increasing the use of online tools.

He cautioned about using online video mobile apps, such as Meerkat, Periscope and Omegle, as well as free chat apps including  Kik Messenger — because each allows its users to interact with strangers.

“That’s where the danger is,” Wilkett warned.

Predators and traffickers also use the chat feature in Xbox and PlayStation games to find vulnerable youths, Wilkett said.

In those games, traffickers will pose as a teenager, then try to build a ‘friendship’ and set up a face-to-face meet with the target, he explained.

“Anywhere that there’s kids, the predator’s going to be there.

“If your kids have (games and apps) that have that chat feature in it, you’ve got problems, because now there is a door for them to come in and begin that recruitment process,” Wilkett said.

Wilkett also drew attention to bogus model auditions that are being used as a sex trafficking trap.

It works like this, Wilkett said: Sex traffickers will pose as a model agent for a large corporation and begin the grooming process by taking headshots. They methodically progress to bathing suit shots, and then more risqué poses.

In some of these cases, the grooming process will last a couple of weeks; in others, as quickly as 72 hours.

“They go in for their first headshot, and 72 hours later, they’re being trafficked,” Wilkett said.

He also mentioned free online dating sites, such as PlentyOfFish, where sex traffickers place ads to lure adults.

Panelist Jan Edwards, CEO of the antitrafficking nonprofit Paving The Way, advised parents to monitor their children’s online activity.

That’s important, she said, because children often accept friend and follower requests on all forms of media — even when they don’t know the person making the request.

It’s important to have access to all of their devices, Edwards said, because youths have discovered ways to hide online content on their smartphones and tablets. They use special vault apps, such as Calculator+, an app which seemingly looks and acts like a calculator.

“Know what they’re doing,” Edwards said. “Kids need to understand they’re the commodity, they’re the target.”

Panelist Christine Ashurst, a child sex trafficking survivor, reiterated those sentiments.

“Social media and the Internet has absolutely, in my opinion, proliferated the (human trafficking) problem so exponentially. It’s so insane right now.”

Human trafficking is a multibillion dollar industry that enslaves approximately 25 million people around the world, according to the Polaris Project, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that works to combat and prevent modern-day slavery and human trafficking.

The United States leads all other countries in the demand for trafficked victims.

Florida ranks No. 3 in the volume of calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay is “a hotspot” for human trafficking, said panelist Liana Dean, who chairs the Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking.

“There’s different figures reported, but we definitely say that it is an issue in the Tampa Bay area and in Pasco,” Dean said.

It’s a crime that occurs in ‘plain sight’
Human trafficking is known as a “hidden crime,” she said, because there isn’t much awareness about it.

“It’s happening right in front of us, and because we don’t know what to look for, we don’t recognize that it’s happening in front of us,” Dean said.

“This is not a problem that one individual or one organization can solve. It takes an entire community,” she said.

Panelists agreed that having meaningful conversations about the problem is the first step toward combating it.

Edwards put it this way: “Human trafficking is so pervasive because we don’t want to deal with it, (and) we don’t want to talk about it.”

However, she continued: “The moment we actually open our mouths and have that dialogue with somebody, we can save a life. We can save a life just by sharing one benign fact, just by clicking ‘Share’ on something. That’s how we disrupt it — is we have the uncomfortable conversations with people and we start to get them comfortable in talking about it,” she said.

The seminar was part of PHSC’s ongoing community awareness series and co-hosted by the Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking and the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking.

The event also featured a screening of Edward’s award-winning film, “Trapped in the Trade,” which shines a light on how children and teenagers can be easily and intentionally recruited into the world of sex trafficking.

Published February 06, 2019

Human trafficking happens everywhere, including Pasco County

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Elected officials, law enforcement and other stakeholders in Pasco County have teamed up this month to shed light on the growing issue of human trafficking.

The problem was at the forefront of a Jan. 5 press conference that featured Pasco County District 1 commissioner Ron Oakley, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, State Rep. Danny Burgess, Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco and others.

“We’re not afraid to say there’s a problem,” Nocco said. “There’s a problem here in Pasco, there’s a problem here in Tampa Bay, there’s a problem in the state of Florida, there’s a problem nationally, and there’s a problem globally.”

Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco detailed the warning signs of human trafficking during a Jan. 5 press conference.
(Kevin Weiss)

Nocco said it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact number of victims in the county. Many human trafficking cases go unreported, he said.

That’s why the sheriff is urging people to be on the lookout—and report—any suspicious activity.

He noted major events — such as the NHL All-Star Game on Jan. 28 in Tampa— oftentimes leads to an uptick in prostitution, due to the number of travelers coming into town.

“If there’s a house in your community, and you see a lot of people coming in and out, see a lot of young girls and even young boys, call law enforcement,” he said.

“If you’re in a restaurant and see something that doesn’t look right, call law enforcement.”

Nocco explained sex trafficking doesn’t just lurk in low-income areas, motels or adult establishments.

“Everybody thinks it’s always going to be a seedy part of town; it could be a very high-class area, a high-class neighborhood, where they’re smuggling young girls or young boys,” Nocco explained. “This is not a crime that’s about stereotypes. It’s every race, color, creed, gender, ethnicity and sexual preference. Everybody can be a victim of this.”

He noted that preventing more victims starts “at home” with parents informing their children about human trafficking, and the dangers it presents.

“If you create an environment where the kids are loved,” Nocco said, “basically you’re reducing the factors that will allow them to be victims of human trafficking. “You also have to be a parent to other kids in your neighborhood, because there’s going to be parents…that don’t care.”

Elected officials, meanwhile, are working to tackle the trafficking problem at large.

The U. S. Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign has set aside Jan. 11 as ‘Wear Blue Day.’ It’s a day to pledge solidarity with victims of human trafficking and to raise awareness about, and work to end related crimes. The entire month of January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. (Courtesy of U.S. Department of Homeland Security)

The House of Representatives has introduced legislation holding websites accountable for soliciting human trafficking, called the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017. Bilirakis said he expects it to pass sometime this month. The House also passed a Homeland Security funding bill that appropriates $2.1 billion—an increase of nearly $94 million —  for domestic and international investigations programs, including efforts to combat human trafficking and child exploitation.

Elsewhere, the U.S. Senate introduced the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017, a bill that would help shut down websites that knowingly provide a platform for sex trafficking. The bill has been reported out of committee and is awaiting passage.

“It’s a nonpartisan issue,” Bilirakis said, “and all stakeholders must work together to solve the problem.”

The month of January has been declared National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, by a presidential proclamation.  And, Jan. 11 is the U. S. Department of Homeland Security’s “Wear Blue Day,” a day to pledge solidarity with victims of human trafficking and raise awareness about, and work to end related crimes.

Called Blue Campaign, it is the unified voice for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to combat human trafficking.

Locally, one group is trying to do its part to find solutions.

The Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking, formed in 2014, is chaired by by Liana Dean, a social worker at BayCare Behavioral Health.

The group is made up of 11 stakeholders representing different sectors of the community. The stakeholders include county government, law enforcement, behavioral health, business and service providers, the school district, faith-based community and others.

It promotes public awareness about human trafficking, creates educational programming opportunities and advocates for strategies to aid survivors of human trafficking.

Since its formation, the commission has taken several active steps to curb human trafficking on a regional level.

It worked with the Pasco County Commission in 2016 to pass an ordinance that mandates signage to raise awareness of human trafficking be posted in the restrooms and dressing rooms of sexually oriented businesses, such as adult entertainment establishments and unlicensed massage services.

It also worked with the National Human Trafficking Hotline and WTOG-TV/CW44 to produce three public service announcements designed to educate the public about the local presence of trafficking.

The commission also has trained more than 3,000 members of the community on human trafficking through its community awareness presentations.

Jennie Sammur, who was recognized as the group’s Volunteer of the Year, helps with social media and public relations strategies.

Sammur, a Tampa-based real estate agent, said awareness is “very key in correcting this horrific crime in our community.”

Florida has consistently ranked third in the number of cases reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, behind only California and Texas.

Published January 10, 2018