NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 49

are essentially kidnapped and spirited
away to a life of imprisoned servitude,
but in most cases the reality is far
more subtle, and often conducted in
plain sight. The cleaning crew that
shows up at the office after hours, the
day laborers who pile out of a van at a
jobsite, the teenager who comes into
the donut shop every morning at 7
a.m. and buys four large coffees and a
half-dozen crullers-any of them could
be victims of human trafficking.
Another misperception can be
summed up in the maxim " it doesn't
happen here, " and if it does it primarily
involves foreign nationals
and illegal immigrants. " Both of
those misperceptions are popular in
Canada, " Inglis said. He cited a new
report by the Canadian Center to End
Human Trafficking, which found that
trafficking is not only widespread
throughout the country, but that an
estimated 86 percent of trafficking victims
in Canada are Canadian. " They're
the girl or boy next door, " he said.
" And it's just as prolific in small towns
as it is in big cities. "
There's also the belief that human
trafficking is the problem of someone
else, notably law enforcement. As with
many other vital causes, however, the
fight against human trafficking takes a
village and requires buy-in and cooperation
among forces that can join to
combat the problem. " Law enforcement
can't know about every situation
that might be going on, so we all need
to act if we see something, " said Paul
Jarrett, fire chief in Lexington, North
Carolina, whose department has developed
trafficking-awareness training.
" We have to be the voice for these
people-we have to be their advocate,
because they have none. "
While precise figures are difficult
to determine, the International Labor
Organization estimates that more than
40 million people worldwide are victims
of human trafficking; 71 percent
are women and girls, and a quarter
of all victims are under the age of 18.
About 25 million are exploited for
labor; of those, 16 million are involved
in domestic work, construction, or
agriculture, nearly 5 million are in
forced sexual exploitation, and 4
million are in forced labor imposed by
state authorities.
The more sophisticated versions
of trafficking exploit local vulnerabilities-most
often economic
hardship-while embedding themselves
in the fabric of the local
economy. In the US, Polaris has
identified 25 types of human trafficking,
ranging from strip clubs and
pornography production to outdoor
solicitation to forestry and logging
(see " Theme & Variations, "
below). To develop its
typology, Polaris analyzed
more than 32,000 cases
of human trafficking documented
between 2007
and 2016 through the
operation of its National
Human Trafficking Hotline
(1.888.373.7888) and the
BeFree Textline (text
233733, or BEFREE)-
what it describes as the
largest data set on human
trafficking ever compiled
and analyzed in the US.
Each variant has its own
business model, trafficker
profiles, recruitment
strategies, victim profiles,
and methods of control
that facilitate human
trafficking.
" With this greater
understanding, we can
begin to develop strategic
campaigns to spur
systematic action, unite
disparate efforts, allocate
limited resources, and
facilitate effective interventions
to combat the
crime, " reports Polaris on
its website, polarisproject.
org. " We can close policy
loopholes and adopt safeguards
that make it more
difficult for bad actors
to abuse vulnerable and
at-risk populations. Cities
and communities that
want to take action can
better understand which
of the 25 types are present
in their areas and design
Theme & Variations
Polaris (polarisproject.org), an anti-trafficking
organization, has identified 25 types of
human trafficking that it characterizes as
" modern slavery " :
Escort services
Illicit massage, health, and
beauty
Outdoor solicitation
Residential brothels
Domestic work
Bars, strip clubs, and cantinas
Pornography production
Traveling sales crews
Restaurants and food service
Peddling and begging
Agriculture and
animal husbandry
Personal sexual servitude
Health and beauty services
Construction
Hotels and hospitality
Landscaping
Illicit activities
Arts and entertainment,
including modeling, athletics,
acting, dance troupes,
and more
Commercial cleaning services
Factories and manufacturing
Remote interactive
sexual acts
Carnivals
Forestry and logging
Health care
Recreational facilities
NFPA .ORG/JOURNAL * NFPA JOURNAL | 49
more targeted campaigns. ... Smart,
targeted interventions can be coordinated
and directed at specific types of
trafficking, reducing the chance that
human trafficking continues to be a
low-risk, high-profit crime. "
Community effort
The low-risk nature of human trafficking
is key to its prevalence, which is why
Inglis, Jarrett, and other anti-trafficking
advocates urge every fire department
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