TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody today convened the first Statewide Council on Human Trafficking meeting in Tallahassee following Super Bowl LIV. The meeting, chaired by Attorney General Moody, involved state government officials, law enforcement leaders and other representatives from across Florida to discuss progress in the fight against human trafficking. It is the Council’s first meeting of the year.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Our statewide council, along with our partners, worked hard to stop human trafficking ahead of this year’s Super Bowl. Twenty victims of trafficking were rescued, including children. While this is encouraging news, our work will not stop. Florida will be hosting several large-scale events, including next year’s Super Bowl, and will be the target of traffickers to come. We will fight hard against this evil to protect Floridians and rescue victims.”
Today’s meeting of the Council included updates from its Legislative and Special Initiatives Committee and the Services and Resources Committee, as well as an update from the Direct Support Organization, The Florida Alliance to End Human Trafficking.
Representatives from the Department of Children and Families gave the Council updates on legislation, the Families First Prevention Services Act, safe houses capacity and hospitality training.
The Statewide Council on Human Trafficking is a 15-member council chaired by Attorney General Moody that builds on existing state and local partnerships to work on combating human trafficking. Members include law enforcement officers, prosecutors, legislators and experts from the fields of health, education and social services. For more information on the Council, click here.
Fighting human trafficking and rescuing survivors is a major focus of Attorney General Moody’s administration. In addition to serving as Chair on the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking, Attorney General Moody:
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- Hosted the 2019 Human Trafficking Summit in Orlando and set an attendance record with more than 850 registered attendees;
- Joined Truckers Against Trafficking and Florida Trucking Association in hosting a half-day training course aimed at educating truckers on identifying human trafficking and how to report it;
- Partnered with Uber ahead of the 2020 Super Bowl in Miami to train drivers to spot and report human trafficking;
- Worked with local law enforcement agencies on multiple cases to rescue trafficking victims and arrest and prosecute human traffickers;
- Ordered a comprehensive review of all Florida policies and task forces related to human trafficking;
- Assigned a Statewide Prosecutor to all local human trafficking task forces in each of Florida’s 20 judicial circuits; and
- Serves as Co-Chair on the National Association of Attorneys General Human Trafficking Committee.
Last year, Shared Hope International gave Florida an A grade in the group’s Protected Innocence Challenge for the state’s human trafficking laws and resources for law enforcement officers. For more information, click here.
This year and next year, Florida will host several large-scale events that could draw traffickers into the area. The Council and its partners will continue working to raise awareness of this evil in advance of:
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- WrestleMania 36 in April 2020 in Tampa;
- the College Football Playoff National Championship in January 2021 in Miami; and
- Super Bowl LV in February 2021 in Tampa.
Learn how to spot and report human trafficking by visiting YouCanStopHT.com.
Report suspected human trafficking by calling the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1(888) 373-7888.
