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In March 2017, Sheriff Bill Waybourn formed a new Intelligence Unit in the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office. The unit, comprised of a supervisor and three investigators, has been charged primarily with investigating human trafficking cases throughout Tarrant County.
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings and usually begins when one person exercises control of another person, through violence, deception or coercion, for the purposes of commercial sex, forced labor or domestic servitude. It is described as a modern-day form of slavery.
A recent study conducted by the Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (IDVSA) at The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work, estimated that there are more than 300,000 victims of human trafficking in Texas, including 79,000 minors and youth victims of sex trafficking and nearly 234,000 adult victims of labor trafficking.
Working in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies and social service providers, the unit is committed to rescuing victims of human trafficking and conducting investigations that lead to the prosecution of human traffickers. In order to accomplish this mission, the following equipment will enhance our ability to pursue and arrest human traffickers:
1. A Mac Book computer ($3,000)
2. Two (2) Traffic Jam Licensed Software Packages ($4,000)
In addition to providing funds for this equipment, we will hold a training event for the community leaders of Tarrant County to better familiarize them with the problem and potential ways to be a part of the solution. For this, we estimate an additional $1,000 in costs.
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