Missouri Department of Transportation battles human trafficking with awareness – ktvo.com

Human trafficking continues to be a concern, with there being 27.6 million victims worldwide at any given time, according to the U.S. Department of State.

One of the major centers for human trafficking is in Missouri, which has the seventh largest transportation system in the United States.

That’s why the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) signed a pledge in 2018 to do its part to fight the crime, educating their workers to know the signs.

“Unfortunately, (human) trafficking uses our transportation system for the benefit of the traffickers,” said MoDOT Commercial Motor Vehicle Program Manager Heather Luebbert. “So we have a sense of responsibility in ensuring and upholding our mission that we do more than just roadways and bridges and construction projects, that we do education for our employees and as much of the public as we can.”

One way the department fights human trafficking is by educating its road crews for the signs.

According to the United States Department of Homeland Security, these are the potential signs someone could be a victim:

• If they are with an adult who is older than them but is not a guardian or family member.
• They might not have possession of essential items such as a wallet, money or ID.
• A potential victim may seem uncomfortable with the person their with and not be allowed to speak for themselves.
• The person may seem in need of medical care and look like they have been denied basic necessities like food, water and sleep.
• Another sign could be physical markings, which could include bruises, cuts and even a tattoo that traffickers could be using to brand their victims.

MoDOT is teaching their workers if they do have suspicions, to write down any information they can.

You can also help authorities if you suspect someone is in need of help.

If they are in a vehicle, write down a description of the vehicle and a license plate number if you can.

Also, try to get a description of the victim and the suspected trafficker. Information like clothes, hair and eye color can be crucial.

Any information that you can get could make a difference when it comes to finding the victim and possibly saving a life.

“Pieces of information that you can gather and forward on to the authorities so that they can do the investigative work. Also including just where are you, landmarks, mile markers, anything that would be notable,” Luebbert added.

The most important thing someone can do to help prevent human trafficking is spreading awareness.

The more educated people are regarding human trafficking, the more likely it is that someone will recognize a victim and call for help.

“I think any awareness is a success. I don’t think it takes the data to necessarily prove that something is successful,” Luebbert said. “I think education awareness, people being alert of their surroundings and actually feeling comfortable doing something and saying something is is really the success story.”

If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888.

If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 as soon as possible.