Human-Trafficking Offenses Handled by State Attorneys General Offices, 2018

• NCJ Number: 254803
• Date Published: March 2021
• Length: 19 pages
• Publication Series: BJS Special Reports
• Agencies: BJS

Annotation

This report details information reported by state attorneys general offices in 43 states, the District of Columbia, and 3 territories on their human-trafficking laws in 2018.

Abstract

This report details the information reported by state attorneys general offices in 43 states, the District of Columbia, and 3 territories on their human-trafficking laws in 2018. The report describes the jurisdiction of state attorneys general offices over labor- and sex-trafficking offenses, their prosecution of human-trafficking offenses, and their staffing or resources to handle human-trafficking cases. It also describes offices that provide victim services, train other entities to recognize and combat human trafficking, and participate in human-trafficking task forces.

Among responding state attorneys general offices in 2018—

• Offices in 26 states, American Samoa, and Guam reported having only criminal jurisdiction, 14 states and the Northern Mariana Islands reported civil and criminal jurisdiction, 2 states reported only civil jurisdiction, and 1 state and the District of Columbia reported no jurisdiction over labor-trafficking cases.
• Thirty states, American Samoa, and Guam reported having only criminal jurisdiction, 11 states and the Northern Mariana Islands reported civil and criminal jurisdiction, 1 state reported only civil jurisdiction, and 1 state and the District of Columbia reported no jurisdiction over sex-trafficking cases.
• Human-trafficking cases were most commonly referred to attorneys general offices by state and local police departments.
• More offices reported prosecuting human-trafficking cases involving individual offenders than offenders that were businesses or groups of individuals.