Rand Examines Human Trafficking in Ohio

The Rand Corporation has published a new monograph titled "Human Trafficking in Ohio." The monograph, which was authored by Jeremy M. Wilson and Erin Dalton, is available for download free of charge from the Rand Corporation's web site. Paper copies of the report can be ordered for a fee through Rand.

In the monograph, the authors examine known instances of human trafficking in two Ohio cities, Columbus and Toledo. They also analyze responses to the issue of human trafficking by the cities' justice and social service communities. In comparing the situations in the two cities, the authors present several recommendations that the report says will improve overall the response to the human trafficking problem.

According to the report, Columbus and Toledo vary significantly in their responses to the problem of human trafficking in Ohio. In Columbus, the authors say, there is a general lack of awareness about the depth of the problem, a lack of resources for dealing with the problem, a lack of coordination between the federal and lower levels, and a lack of community service providers for dealing with issues related to human trafficking.

In Toledo, the report says, significant efforts have been made to increase awareness of the problem and coordination between federal officials and lower level parties has improved knowledge and response to the issue. In both cities, according to the authors, there is no coordinated response between the justice and child welfare systems. The report also identifies the need for more shelter options for victims of human trafficking crimes.

Key points of the report include the following: 1) identification of human trafficking cases in the report should serve as a baseline for the scope of the problem; 2) individual cases can have multiple victims and offenders; 3) human trafficking has only been a criminal problem for the past seven years and a proper response to the issue will take time and training; and 4) increased awareness and increased allocation of resources will result in the identification of more individual cases of human trafficking.