FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin

April 2007 Volume 76 Number 4

United States
Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Washington, DC 20535-0001

Robert S. Mueller III
Director

Contributors’ opinions and statements should not be considered an endorsement by the FBI for any policy, program, or service.

The attorney general has determined that the publication of this periodical is necessary in the transaction of the public business required by law. Use of funds for printing this periodical has been approved by the director of the Office of Management and Budget.

The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin (ISSN-0014-5688) is published monthly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20535-0001. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C., and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Editor, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, FBI Academy, Madison Building, Room 201, Quantico, VA 22135.

Editor
John E. Ott

Art Director
Denise Bennett Smith

Staff Assistants
Cynthia H. McWhirt
Gabriel E. Ryan

This publication is produced by members of the Law Enforcement Communication Unit, Training Division.

Internet Address leb@fbiacademy.edu

Cover Photo © brandXpictures

Send article submissions to Editor,
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin,
FBI Academy, Madison Building,
Room 201, Quantico, VA 22135.

Features

From Police Officer to Part-time Professor
By Tracey G. Gove
Police Officers should consider the many opportunities available to teach in the college classroom.

Investigating Human Trafficking
By Kevin Bales and Steven Lize
Law enforcement agencies can take practical steps to effectively address cases of human trafficking.

Departments

Unusual Weapon
Knife/Gun

Perspective
Gratuities

Leadership Spotlight
Above Reproach

Book Review
Community Policing

Bulletin Reports
Homeland Security
Emergency Management
Weapons
Corrections

Intelligence and Airports
By ROBERT T. RAFFEL

The role of intelligence in an airport environment has long been a subject of debate and uncertainty. How much is out there? Of what quality or usefulness is available information? Can airports properly use such intelligence even if they could receive it? Appropriate collection, analysis, and dissemination of information useful to an airport is problematic enough; the availability and usefulness of intelligence is even more so. Information comes through a variety of open sources. The technological explosion of the past decade made information of all types more readily accessible. In fact, the availability of information creates a dilemma for analysts, making it difficult for them to separate the useful from the merely repetitive. Intelligence, on the other hand, is information either so sensitive or gained in covert methods or from secret sources that it becomes restricted from public dissemination. It also is more closely held and controlled and subject to rigorous requirements governing a need-to know policy. Although higher governmental levels have made efforts to share classified information with airports, a lack of standardization, consistency, or even a designated program have hampered communications.¹

Further, even given the availability of information, what processes have been or need to be established to leverage the product into something useful? Despite these daunting issues, airport security practitioners have several avenues to receive useful information and to maximize intelligence collection, reception, and dissemination.

Perpetual Issues

Open-Source Information

© Mark C. Ide

One of the products of this nation’s effort to combat terrorism in a post 9/11 world has been the development of various types of open-source information. Pre 9/11 information-sharing groups supporting airports, such as the Airport Law Enforcement Agencies Network (ALEAN), assist in this task.⁵ One of ALEAN’s goals is to “...facilitate the rapid exchange of information concerning airport-related crimes....”

Since 9/11, ALEAN has served as a conduit for information and open-source intelligence directed primarily at the airport law enforcement manager and practitioner. Other national airport and air-carrier organizations predating 9/11, such as AAAE,⁶ ACI-NA,⁷ and ATA,⁸ also have facilitated the rapid and thorough flow of information to the airport and air-carrier communities. Although a distinction exists between information of general interest to the community and information useful to deter and detect terrorist activities, these organizations, nonetheless, provide the means by which facts may flow quickly to predesignated groups.

Local Intelligence

Due to the issues of specificity and threat involved with most national-level intelligence, the best information often comes from local mediums. Most airports, especially those adjacent to areas with a large population, have access to surrounding law enforcement intelligence groups. For example, the majority of departments now keep close track of gang-related activity. They also have intelligence units with the potential to provide useful information pertaining to airport-related activities of particular groups and individuals. Because of criminal activity at airports (e.g., narcotics and arms smuggling, organized and gang-related theft rings), area-specific information actually may be a better vehicle with which to identify threats and, thus, more useful than what resides on more macro levels.

Some airports, recognizing the importance of this type of information, established groups composed of members from local and federal law enforcement agencies who meet at regular intervals. They discuss and exchange local threat information, status of current operations, and other matters of mutual interest. Groups such as these benefit from the network created and avail themselves of the opportunity to weave into airport-related law enforcement. This proves especially vital today when an increasing number of law enforcement agencies are becoming involved in various aspects of airport security.¹¹

Finally, airports themselves can leverage information-collection opportunities. Most airport employees require some type of identification to accomplish their tasks, presenting airports with information relating to each of these individuals. This information, although subject to strict rules regarding dissemination, may be and has been used for both counterterrorism and criminal investigations. Airport employees also can provide information regarding suspicious activities and persons.¹²

Information-Sharing Opportunities

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) currently is developing methodologies to collect, analyze, and appropriately disseminate intelligence to airports. The federal security director (FSD) is the designated point of contact for the ASC. This relationship is partly regulatory but also a vehicle for sharing aviation security-related information.¹³ FSDs and ASCs who work to develop and cement close working relationships have a unique opportunity to engage in information- and intelligence-sharing activities. In such an arrangement, the FSD gains the airports’ insights into local threat groups and airport history with regard to terrorist and criminal activity.

A good example of TSA-airport coordination involved dissemination of information by TSA to airports concerning the MANPAD threat.¹⁵ Following a terrorist attempt to down a civilian aircraft over Mombasa, Kenya, in 2002, U.S. officials began a concerted effort to educate local law enforcement and security officials about these weapons. TSA officials contacted airports within their respective areas and passed on information and graphics outlining the threat. Airports and their law enforcement entities then teamed with the TSA, FBI, and other agencies to take remedial actions. Although the efficacy of this effort may be debatable, it, nonetheless, exemplifies the possibilities inherent in a collaborative approach to information sharing.

Trend Analysis

One of the most valuable deliverables in a well-organized information-sharing environment involves trend analysis. Governmental organizations at local and federal levels have a wider scope of information-collection capabilities. The opportunities for partnerships between airports and local and federal agencies abound. Using previously identified collection sources or creating or leveraging new ones gives the security manager unique capabilities. Seemingly unrelated activities can be collected, analyzed, and culled for possible trends. Although certain federal and state agencies have begun this process, additional centralized coordination is needed. The communications infrastructure necessary to carry out this activity already exists in precursory or mature forms.

A notable example is a new partnership program between elements of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement departments that involves training local police to make and report spot observations. Agencies enter these reports in a database available to other local and federal law enforcement groups nationwide. When queried, the database can search, capture, and produce information on similar events.

As this program expands, the potential for trend analysis could grow exponentially. This type of innovative approach to data collection and federal-local partnership indicates a wider federal vision involving airport security assets in addition to law enforcement.¹⁶ These initiatives appreciably widen the intelligence-collection effort and greatly enhance information-gathering capabilities.

© PhotoDisc

Conclusion

Both information and intelligence are useful to the airport security practitioner. Much information is available through open sources; challenges involve prioritization and analytical capability. Local intelligence, given the relative ease of collection and immediate applicability to the individual airport, is valuable to the airport security manager. Innovation and partnerships with local and federal officials can address issues involving appropriate collection, analysis, and use of information. With the proper foundation and development of a suitable process, even intelligence may be shared. Further, all agencies should place greater emphasis on trend analysis—the full realization of this asset is contingent upon leveraging existing infrastructure and designing a useful process.

Endnotes

¹ Following the Pan American flight 103 bombing in Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, the position of federal security manager (FSM) was established in-line with the recommendations of the President’s Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism. One of the duties of the FSM was to “... serve as the conduit for all aviation-related intelligence.” U.S. Congress, Report of the President’s Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism (Washington, DC, May 15, 1990), 60. This function included the sharing of certain levels of classified information with designated civilian airport security managers, who were granted a security clearance by the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Civil Aviation Security. This program fell into disuse after the events of 9/11 and the subsequent transfer of aviation security responsibilities from the FAA to the TSA. “

² General aviation aircraft and airports continue to grow in size and complexity. The increasing popularity of fractional aircraft sales and rentals exacerbate the issue.

³ This became an issue of debate subsequent to the Pan American flight 103 bombing when members of the President’s Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism discovered that a prior threat on December 5, 1988, had been made to the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki, Finland. The threat stated that “sometime within the next 2 weeks” a bomb would be placed upon a Pan American flight flying from Frankfurt into the United States. This information was selectively distributed by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of State, giving rise to the charge of “a double standard— the intentional choice to warn some people but not others.” U.S. Congress, Report of the President’s Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism (Washington, DC, May 15, 1990).

⁴ Airport operators are required to designate an ASC to (among other tasks) “...serve as the airport operator’s primary... contact for security-related activities and communications with TSA”; 49 CFR 1542 §1542.3.

⁵ Since its beginning in 1990, the ALEAN has grown to include over 85 domestic airports and several foreign ones. Information and training in specific areas of interest to airport law enforcement officers has long been an ALEAN strength. For more information, visit ALEAN’s Web site at http://www.alean.com.

⁶ The American Association of Airport Executives.

⁷ Airports Council International–North America.

⁸ The Air Transport Association.

⁹ http://www.secureflorida.org.

¹⁰ The model referred to here is the threat + vulnerability = risk equation. Airport security managers should know their airports’ vulnerabilities. Consequently, the more they understand about the threat, the more accurate the assessment of risk becomes. For additional information, see W. Dean Lee, “Risk Assessments and Future Challenges,” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, July 2005, 1-13.

¹¹ In the pre 9/11 airport security environment, FSMs often developed such groups for these purposes. Commonly called threat assessment groups, or TAG teams, they played an important role in bringing law enforcement, information, and airports together. Normally composed of federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations having interests in and operations involving airports, they became a valuable tool for the FSMs. This approach was never formalized and, in most instances, did not survive the wave of change that followed the U.S. governmental response to the 9/11 attacks.

¹² Orlando International Airport, for example, has established close relationships with local police intelligence units. Gang activity is present both in the community and the airport, which tends to mirror the demographics of the surrounding area. Realizing this as a potential threat, the airport-police partnership has resulted in the identification and arrests of these individuals on several occasions.

¹³ The FSD position was created under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) Public Law 107-71. See 49 USC § 44933. Under the ATSA, each commercial service airport is assigned an FSD. The legacy position was the FAA’s FSM formed by public law following the Pan American flight 103 disaster. FSDs currently have more authority than FSMs had under the FAA. The position of ASC predated the FSD but also was recodified under the ATSA. See § 1542.3. Under the ATSA, the ASC “serves as the airport operator’s primary and immediate contact for security-related activities and communications with TSA.”

¹⁴ Prior to 9/11, the FSM was authorized to share certain levels and types of classified information with the ASC, who was permitted to apply for the appropriate clearance through FAA. Although this arrangement ended after the events of 9/11 and subsequent reorganizations, TSA may be seeking to reestablish the process.

¹⁵ Man portable air defense system, which describes a shoulder-fired missile.

¹⁶ Law enforcement and security are not synonymous terms. For more detail on this subject, see Robert Raffel, “Security and Law Enforcement: An Airport Model,” Aviation Security International, February 2005.

Unusual Weapon
Knife/Gun

These photos depict a knife that also serves as a .22-caliber pistol. The weapon was seized by the Crook County, Oregon, Sheriff’s Office while executing a search warrant at the residence of a state parolee.

Perspective
Gratuities
Pay Now or Later
By Charlie Sewell

One morning before reporting for duty as a rookie police officer, I stopped at a local convenience store for a cup of coffee. When I placed the cup on the counter and reached for my wallet, the clerk said, “We don’t charge police officers for coffee.” Not knowing exactly how to react, I thanked the clerk and left the store with what I deemed at the time was my trophy. What I did not realize was the position in which I had unwittingly placed myself.

Today, chain restaurants generally offer the same product, level of service, and cleanliness from one location to another. This helps travelers know what to expect when choosing an eating establishment. In the days before fast food, motorists had little prior information to use in selecting a place to eat when away from home. A parking lot full of automobiles often indicated enjoyable food but was not a sure bet. When I traveled as a child with my family, my father selected a suitable restaurant based on whether a police car was parked outside. He theorized that if the local officers ate there, it must be favorable. In retrospect, I wonder whether those vehicles were parked there because the officers enjoyed the food or because they received a reduced bill. In reality, an officer’s choice of restaurant could range from assignment location, restaurant availability, or food preference to choice of employees.

Many business owners regularly employ off-duty law enforcement officers for added security. Resourceful entrepreneurs might analyze that attracting officers to their businesses by offering a free cup of coffee or discounted food might afford them a less costly way of boosting security. This practice can be more attractive for smaller restaurants, convenience stores, or retail businesses, especially those in rural areas.

Encountering Problems

As a new sergeant, I rode patrol with an officer during his first week with my department. He went into a fast-food restaurant to pick up our lunch while I stayed in the car to monitor the radio. When he returned to the car, he was empty-handed. Naturally, I asked about the food. When it was his turn at the counter, he explained, the cashier had snapped, “I guess you want your policeman’s discount.” To this he had quickly retorted, “No, ma’am, I’d prefer that you charge me double.” The snickers, giggles, and awkward comments from customers embarrassed him and led him to make a face-saving retreat.

Another officer recounted an embarrassing moment to me after his third visit to a local restaurant. The first time he ate there, he said that he received a half-price meal. The next week, he ate for free. On his third visit, the cashier became confused about how to apply the police officer discount using the cash register. While she struggled with the register, the other customers’ voice levels grew in proportion to the growing service line. The officer’s quiet suggestion that the cashier accept full payment went unheard. Repeated requests led to more frustration as the cashier stated that she was simply following company policy. The officer tried to explain that for him to pay full price this time was only fair, telling her about his first and second visits to the restaurant. By paying full price now, he would be making up for the previous free meal. One free meal and one full-price meal equal two half-price meals, he said. Unfortunately, the officer had a difficult time convincing the cashier, slightly elevating his voice and finally thrusting cash into her hand. His words, of course, were within earshot of other customers, and his demeanor sounded similar to a bossy demand that the cashier do as he said. The officer had not asked for a discount or the embarrassment; he resigned himself never to return to that establishment. By developing policies that restrict acceptance of gratuities, law enforcement agencies can protect themselves from such potential predicaments.

Chief Sewell heads the McMinnville, Tennessee, Police Department.

Evaluating Policies

On the other hand, a blanket policy prohibiting gratuities can have the unintended effect of damaging public relations. Some citizens have positive relationships with their local law enforcement officers and want to show their appreciation. Do we tell the well-respected and well-meaning lady who brings the fruitcake to the station at Christmas that we do not want her gift? There is a contrast between a citizen soliciting a police agency and an officer initiating the contact;¹ we can more easily distinguish the officer’s intent if he is not the solicitor. Although the public’s expectation of a special relationship might be the same regardless of who solicited whom, in either case, citizens may view the relationship as less damaging if the officer or agency has been solicited.

Solicitation by law enforcement agencies certainly dates back many years. My former agency has been involved in raising funds for events since I can remember. The distinction in the intent of the solicitation is where my experience has shown that lines should be drawn. Is the officer receiving personal benefit or does a special interest group receive the benefit? Annually, my former department sponsors a 4-mile run to raise money for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program. All funds are directly applied to equipment and supplies for the fifth-grade DARE students, with the officers and agency realizing no profit. Some departments hold fund-raising campaigns because they do not have budgets that support the purchase of bullet-resistant vests for the officers’ personal use. However, I believe the vast majority of the public easily recognizes the dissimilarity between donating for a lifesaving device and a gratuity given with the express purpose of receiving a reward or payback.

Discounts that attract law enforcement officers also afford hourly clerks the opportunity to develop relationships with those officers. Does the clerk apply the owner’s policy of a discount willingly or begrudgingly? The resentful clerk might smile at the moment of service but say to others afterwards, “Why should this officer get a discount? Cops think they’re so special.” Further, the clerk may expect the same discount when stopped for a minor traffic violation. In that case, the clerk or owner of the establishment could prompt a public relations nightmare for the local law enforcement agency.

Some departments have policies that regulate the exact dollar amount of an acceptable gratuity. Others forbid officers to accept anything of value for performing their official duties except when given permission by the agency. Furthermore, other agencies require officers to notify their superiors when they receive gifts from individuals, businesses, or organizations with which the agency has a business relationship.

While these policies are steeped in tradition, a more stringent one on the acceptance of gratuities can prevent agencies from finding themselves negatively portrayed on the front page of the local newspaper. It also can help eliminate embarrassing moments before the governing body, both in private and public forums. Every time we receive a freebie, we should ask ourselves, “What service have we provided in exchange for this?” Otherwise, the public may ask what profit or wealth we may have received by accepting it. As one author memorably stated, “What makes a gift a gratuity is the reason it is given, what makes it corruption is the reason it is taken.”² Convincing someone that you want to pay full price for a meal might prove easier than convincing the public that your motives are ethical.

Realizing Options

Where do we draw the line between saying no thanks to a complimentary cup of coffee and creating a public scene? Clerks can be gregarious in enforcing company rules. A business owner could become offended when a generous offer is turned down. Some establishments always will offer discounts for law enforcement agencies, but that should not stop officers from always offering to pay full price. If the owner or clerk insists on providing a discount, the officer has the option of leaving the remainder of the full price on the table when served. This amount should not be considered a tip or gratuity to the service staff as tips are based on the full price of goods and services. If the business has counter service (a cash register), rather than table service, the officer can provide the cash register clerk with adequate change to cover the rest of the bill.

Officers are not expected to bring public attention to their ethical dilemmas regarding gratuities, but they can make a reasonable effort to receive the same monetary consideration as the public. Or, they can take their business elsewhere.

But, what about discounts offered to the general public? Should law enforcement officers accept a greater discount on top of the one everyone else gets? And, how do we differentiate between a well-intentioned gift and a self-serving gratuity? The lines are not always clear, but I believe we must try to make them so. The safest way to do so is to insist on transparency. Corruption is a black-and-white issue that cannot be measured by degrees. Free coffee and donuts may be a joke of the trade, but they should not be viewed as a perk of the job. The practice is quietly diluting our honor. Our basic ethics in law enforcement have not changed, but our integrity must be evident and confirmed in the eyes of the public. “[T]here is only a small difference between accepting a cup of coffee, accepting a cup of coffee and a donut, and accepting a free meal and only a small difference between that and a gift, and another small difference to accepting a large gift and another small difference to accepting...a whopping great suitcase full of cash in small denominations, nonmarked, nonsequential bills. Thus, it could be argued that since there is no clear boundary between accepting a cup of coffee and accepting the suitcase of cash, one ought not accept the cup of coffee.”³

The price of a cup of coffee may be only a dollar, but, if an officer patronizes the same business during each tour of duty, the price of coffee could equate to $5 each week. Multiplied by the number of weeks an officer works each year, the gratuity can easily surpass $100. And, for even a small law enforcement agency, multiple officers patronizing the same business can consume free coffee valued in the thousands of dollars. Further, adding a free donut, piece of pie, or sandwich can generate very large expenses in the department’s name at the business. I am aware of police officers from other agencies who visited a restaurant in such numbers and with such regularity that the business owner was forced to abandon his free-food policy or face bankruptcy.

© PhotoDisc

Conclusion

We may know the culture of our own departments inside and out. We may even realize the honor and integrity with which our officers regard one another and the public. But, what we hear from the public face-to-face may be self-serving and not the same words they would use in another discussion. Agencies can develop a gratuity policy by seeking the help of many officers and local business owners and by reviewing established policies in other jurisdictions. Such a policy should tie directly with modern law enforcement’s strict code of ethics regarding financial gains or rewards. When those of us in this profession conduct our jobs in textbook fashion, we step on toes as the general public frequently does not understand our procedures. To this end, many agencies offer citizen police academies and other programs to improve their relationships with the public.

If the overall perception of public safety officers has improved, should we not work hard to perpetuate that image of ourselves? I do not want my professional discretion questioned. I will not knowingly place my department or myself in the embarrassing position of having to explain why we received a gratuity to which the general public was not entitled. Granted, we should avoid performing a disservice to the public by issuing a top-down prohibition on accepting gifts of any kind.

Endnotes

¹ For clarity, the author employs masculine pronouns throughout the article.

² John Kleining, The Ethics of Policing (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1996).

³ Stephen Coleman, “When Police Should Say ‘NO!’ to Gratuities,” Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Charles Sturt University, Australia, working paper, June 2003.

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Leadership Spotlight

Above Reproach

No man is above the law and no man is below it, nor do we ask any man’s permission when we  require him to obey it. —Theodore Roosevelt

Serving in law enforcement provides officers with many privileges not conferred upon most other professions. The honor of rendering service to fellow citizens in their utmost time of need, the ability to mentor and influence people to better themselves and society, and the duty to protect communities from natural and human dangers are the inherent privileges of the criminal justice profession. Unfortunately, instances occur in the law enforcement community when officers seek additional individual entitlements simply because of the position they hold. These entitlements, beyond the scope of those privileges inherent to the honorable nature of the job, are referred to as professional courtesies.

For many years, criminal justice professionals, academia, media personnel, and the public have debated this topic, broadly defined as the extension of special privileges from one professional to another simply because they share the same occupation. Quite often in the law enforcement setting, the courtesy extended is for leniency on a minor traffic violation or assistance on a personal matter that otherwise would not be addressed if the requestor was not a member of the law enforcement community.

Whether professional courtesies are ethically appropriate, legally permissible, or morally justified undoubtedly will be debated in different forums in the future. By simply avoiding situations where the need to request a professional courtesy will arise, officers can reduce the likelihood of having their actions scrutinized by peers, supervisors, members of professional boards, legal analysts, media personnel, and public citizens. To avoid these dubious situations, law enforcement officers should be above reproach.

Fidelity is a characteristic affiliated with most successful leaders. The unfailing fulfillment of one’s public duties and strict adherence to rules form the foundation of fidelity. Both on- and off-duty law enforcement officers must behave in such a manner that their actions are always within the letter and spirit of the law. For example, if officers obey the posted speed limit despite how fast or recklessly all the other drivers might be traveling, they never will find themselves in the precarious and controversial situation of needing to request a professional courtesy.

The law enforcement profession is highly revered by those employed within its ranks and by the public. officers, regardless of rank or position, must be leaders in their departments and communities. Most criminal justice professionals, as well as citizens, will follow the example set by their respected leaders. When charged with enforcing the social contract society has with its citizens, officers must realize that their actions must represent, at a minimum, the same behaviors expected by society. Law enforcement officers who hold themselves to a higher ethical standard offer their communities the appropriate example to follow.

From Police Officer to Part-time Professor
Making the Leap into the College Classroom
By TRACEY G. GOVE, M.P.A.

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.

Police officers of all ranks spend a considerable amount of time teaching. Community policing has brought the need for improved communication and listening skills to the forefront of modern law enforcement; personnel speak with, for example, neighborhood groups, youth organizations, and civic associations. Also, many agencies have instituted school resource officers, community relations divisions, and citizen police academies through which much instruction occurs. The skills officers gain by way of these endeavors prepare them well for teaching in a college classroom.

Obtaining a part-time position as an adjunct faculty member at a local college offers not only prestige but a variety of benefits. Teaching enhances personal development and knowledge, reflects well on the employing police agency, provides intellectual enjoyment and stimulation, gives extra

Interested officers who can afford the commitment of time and energy required of part-time professors should investigate opportunities to teach. Information for these individuals to consider includes the history and effectiveness of adjuncts, how to find and apply for a job as a part-time professor, the basics of getting started prior to the first day of class, and how to grow and improve as an educator.

FOLLOWING TRADITION

Part-time adjunct instructors have taught on college campuses since the 1960s. Unequal supply and demand in the community college market sparked this trend; the public’s need for evening courses quickly outgrew the available faculty.² Administrators then turned to the professional workforce to fill the gaps.

Critical budget shortages in the 1980s coupled with increased college enrollment further boosted the use of part-time professors. Currently, adjunct faculty members provide 40 percent of the instruction at the college and university level in the United States.³ Although the largest number of adjuncts teach primarily at 2-year and state-supported colleges, Ivy League institutions, such as Harvard University, also have employed part-time instructors to supplement their teaching staff.⁴

Compensation policies differ by school, and adjunct pay, typically on a per-course basis, varies from approximately $400 to around $4,000.⁵ Also, generally, part-time professors receive little to no benefits. Further, they do not always enjoy a guarantee of continued employment and, perhaps, work on a semester-by-semester basis.

In many cases, adjuncts are considered outside the college system and typically have little say in curricular development, textbook selection, or governance of the institution.⁶ Usually, full-time and tenured faculty handle these details.

Once thought of as secondary teachers, today’s adjuncts have dispelled old assumptions that part-time faculty have less commitment, effectiveness, and credentials.⁷ Some people argue that although adjuncts are less likely than full-time faculty to hold Ph.D.s, often they are better teachers because they have fewer concerns with curriculum planning and research.⁸ Adjuncts also have proven prolific in publishing.⁹ And, not only do students directly benefit from the rich real-life experiences of adjuncts but they also enjoy the cost savings realized by institutions through the judicious use of part-time instructors—the money saved on salaries can free funds for academic and capital programs.¹⁰

Detective Sergeant Gove, of the West Hartford, Connecticut, Police Department, is an adjunct faculty member at Briarwood College in Southington.

FINDING AND APPLYING FOR A POSITION

The Search

The Internet serves as an invaluable source for finding a position. For instance, colleges and universities post job announcements for open and upcoming part-time positions on their home pages. Frequently, community colleges accept resumes continually to fill projected and unanticipated openings. Other employment Web sites advertise jobs and allow users to search by major, position, or location.

Depending upon background, training, and professional experience, aspiring professors will have several fields of study to choose from and should not limit their search to criminal justice. Other areas worthy of consideration include homeland security, forensic science, legal studies, security management, communications, and public administration.

Qualifications

Institutions commonly require a master’s degree in a related field for an adjunct position. However, some will substitute this requirement for a bachelor’s degree attendant with sufficient progressively

Prospective professors should remember that teaching experience can encompass a variety of on-the-job duties, such as public speaking (e.g., at community associations or Rotary Clubs), teaching at DARE functions and in-services, or earning credentials as a state-certified instructor. Those lacking any such experience may have to build skills prior to seeking an adjunct position. Visiting the criminal justice department at a local college is an excellent way to meet contacts in the teaching field, and many professors are eager to have current law enforcement practitioners in the classroom to guest lecture or assist with lessons. Not only do these avenues provide the needed teaching experience but they also build rapport that may eventually help an individual get started in the field.

Application Process

When applying for part-time teaching positions, officers will find preparing a well-organized and thorough curriculum vitae (CV)—simply a longer resume than the usual 1- or 2-page summary of work experience, education, and skills—essential. A CV provides a more detailed synopsis, including the applicant’s educational and academic background, teaching and research experience, publications, presentations,

After completion of the CV and related application materials, candidates typically will undergo an interview. Prior to this, they must take steps to learn about the institution. Law enforcement personnel can gain a lot of what they need to know by thoroughly exploring the school’s Web site. They should determine, for instance, the institution’s vision and mission; information pertaining to the criminal justice department, including key figures, such as the dean, assistant dean, and other department leaders; curricula— a copy of the college catalogue will outline the entire criminal justice program, including all courses, requirements, and areas of specialization; and characteristics of the student body.

Online Opportunities

Officers interested in teaching also can explore Web-based instruction. If unable to commit to 1 or 2 nights a week in a classroom, they may find this an excellent choice. Opportunities abound; for example, two online universities, Capella University and the University of Phoenix, offer undergraduate degrees in criminal justice and also hire adjunct faculty. Obviously, candidates must possess a working knowledge of computer applications and may need to

PREPARING FOR THE FIRST CLASS

Once hired to teach a course, officers will find that few colleges have an orientation program for new adjuncts.¹⁵ The information obtained during the preinterview research will prove invaluable in preparing for the upcoming semester. New adjuncts must review course protocols and objectives so that learning outcomes, lectures, and class assignments will match curriculum goals.

A trip to the college campus becomes essential. First, officers should visit the criminal justice department to meet the faculty and staff and view available classrooms as to layout and accessible equipment. Also, they should tour the library and bookstore; professors will need the familiarity because they will have to use both facilities and provide directions to students unfamiliar with the campus.

Although officers will find that the greatest resource for preparation lies in speaking to other faculty members, they should obtain and study a faculty/staff manual, which contains important information to learn prior to the first day of class. Part-time professors must know the institution’s policies and procedures pertaining to student withdrawal, grading, missed classes and late assignments, make-up exams, tests, tutoring, disability accommodations, and learning center resources. Also, adjuncts should know the teacher evaluation systems.

Part-time instructors may find that they receive less institutional support than full-time faculty.¹⁶ They may not have an office, e-mail account, voice mail, secretarial support, or even a mailbox. Armed with this knowledge, officers will be prepared for the minor issues that may arise. For example, they can schedule office hours to help students 30 minutes before or after class time in the classroom, library, or student lounge. This would help offset the lack of office space.

Typically, adjuncts will receive a course textbook. When schools do not provide them with a syllabus, they should request copies of several used in the class. Not only can officers use these as a template but the syllabi will provide an idea of what other teachers have done in the course. A search through the Internet can produce a variety of different syllabi online, as well as free templates, guidelines, and examples.

Textbook publishers will freely give a desk copy of their texts to instructors. Further, the local sales representative for the company will provide resources to assist with lesson plans and tests. Publishers also have settled on the information superhighway, providing an abundant supply of teacher resource materials on their Web sites. Individuals can easily access games, presentations, test generators, video clips, pictures, class assignments, projects, student handouts, and a variety of other helpful materials and use them in the classroom. These vast resources provide hours of classroom assistance and help increase student comprehension through auditory and visual stimulation. And, they are easy to use and incorporate into a lesson plan.

Once officers settle issues, such as class design and format and learning competencies, they need to address several more ancillary matters before the first day of class. These include obtaining a parking sticker and finding the faculty parking lot; securing appropriate identification; learning how to get to the classroom; knowing the location and phone number of security personnel (e.g., in case someone mistakenly locks the classroom); procuring access to a photocopier for class assignments; and becoming familiar with the storage and use of audiovisual equipment.

IMPROVING TEACHING COMPETENCY

Although adjuncts typically serve more as experts in content than in pedagogy, they still will benefit from a familiarity with different teaching theories and learning styles. For instance, officers should become familiar with “Bloom’s Taxonomy,” which identified educational goals and objectives that teach educators what students need to know and how they acquire information at the cognitive level.¹⁷

Officers also can find printed resources to help build their proficiency. These include books specifically devoted to the issue of adjunct teaching, although only a few exist, and several periodicals and journals.

Finally, informal, anonymous class evaluations can help. Because most colleges and universities prefer to administer these at the end of the semester, instructors do not receive the results until the course is completed. Obviously, this does not allow officers to fine-tune their skills during the class. However, an informal evaluation given within the first few weeks of the course and another given after the midterm can allow for a more fluid approach and permit teachers to actively improve their competencies.

CONCLUSION

Institutions have found adjunct faculty members valuable and have enjoyed not only the quality instruction they provide but cost savings. The demand for part-time professors results in a world of opportunity.

Endnotes

¹ Carolyn Butler, “A Good Time to Study Crime,” U.S. News and World Report: America’s Best Graduate Schools 2006.

³ Ibid.

⁴ John Hickman, “University Professors Get Outsourced”; retrieved from http:// www.landiss.com/teaching/outsourced.htm.

⁵ Supra note 2.

⁶ Barbara Wyles, “Adjunct Faculty in the Community College: Realities and Challenges,” New Directions for Higher Education 4 (Winter 1998): 89-93.

⁷ Ibid.

⁸ Supra note 4.

⁹ Supra note 4.

¹⁰ Supra note 2.

¹¹ Bill Brown, “Life as a Virtual Adjunct”; retrieved from http://www. aasa.org/publications/saarticledetail. cfm?ItemNumber=2041.

¹² Kimberly Reeves, “Online Adjuncts”; retrieved from http://www.aasa.org/publications/saarticledetail.cfm?ItemNumber =2039&snItemNumber=950&tnItemNumber=951.

¹³ Supra note 11.

¹⁴ Supra note 12.

¹⁵ Denise Dedman and William Pearch, “Perspectives on Adjunct and Other Nontenure Faculty”; retrieved from http://www. fi ndarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4057/ is_200404/ai_n9348886.

¹⁶ Supra note 4.

¹⁷ For additional information, see http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/ cogsys/bloom.html.

Wanted:
Photographs

The Bulletin staff isTalways looking for dynamic, law enforcement-related photos for possible publication in the magazine. We are interested in photos that visually depict the many aspects of the law enforcement profession and illustrate the various tasks law enforcement personnel perform.

Book Review

Community Policing: Partnerships for Problem Solving, fourth edition, by Linda S. Miller and Karen M. Hess, Wadsworth Publishing, Belmont, California, 2005.

Community policing has steadily gained popularity and acceptance as a viable solution to seemingly intractable crime and quality-of-life problems. Indeed, many police departments are practicing community policing in some form, oftentimes at the behest of elected leaders who recognize its value. Delivering on the promise of community policing and transforming a law enforcement agency from reactive to proactive can be made easier when “change agents” fully understand the tenets of community policing, problem-oriented policing, and community partnerships. Linda S. Miller and Karen M. Hess have completely revised the fourth edition of Community Policing: Partnerships for Problem Solving and present an easy-to-read text that captures all of the necessary principles to ensure the success of community policing.

One of the most important facets of community policing is partnerships; police partnerships with stakeholders are essential if crime reduction and quality of life are to improve. Miller and Hess have devoted a new chapter (chapter 7) to partnerships, their importance, and how to establish meaningful ones. Chapter 7 begins with a discussion on the value of partnerships and how collaboration leads to positive results. The authors cite several authoritative community policing sources and experts who refer to partnerships as “the glue of community policing.” The glue comes about through active community involvement and mutual trust by committed stakeholders. In addition to adjustments in the community that must be made, organizational changes are necessary to sustain successful partnership programs. Miller and Hess carefully point out a few techniques, such as call management and citizen police academies, that help an agency deploy better and encourage public involvement.

The text is divided into three major sections: “Overview,” “Building Relationships and Trust,” and “Community Policing in the Field: Collaborative Efforts.” The “Overview” describes some of the fundamentals of community policing, including its evolution, the mission and culture of police organizations, community involvement, proactive policing, and implementing community policing. Section 2, “Building Relationships and Trust,” describes how to overcome the traditional obstacles associated with decentralized policing (i.e., community policing), characterized as open communication, building partnerships, and forming a working relationship with the media. The last section, “Community Policing in the Field: Collaborative Efforts,” outlines previous research and some successful community policing projects. The relevant topics cover early experiments in crime prevention, safe neighborhoods and communities, reaching youth through community policing, gangs and drugs, violence and terrorism, and the future of community policing.

The text is replete with commentaries and excerpts by community policing experts and other policing authorities, including Herman Goldstein, John Eck, and William Spellman, along with the U.S. Department of Justice, Community Policing Consortium. Each chapter ends with discussion questions and a community project assignment, which adds a novel critical-thinking touch. The publisher also offers a Web site (www.infotrac-college. com) with additional sources for research. The text is excellent for any college course on community policing, problem-oriented policing, or police and the community. Practitioners will find the text useful for academy courses on the same subject and to help facilitate implementing community policing or partnership programs.

Reviewed by Captain Jon M. Shane (Ret.) Newark, New Jersey, Police Department

The Bulletin’s
E-mail Address

© Digital Vision The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin staff invites you to communicate with us via e-mail. Our Internet address is leb@fbiacademy.edu. We would like to know your thoughts on contemporary law enforcement issues. We welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions about the magazine. Please include your name, title, and agency on all e-mail messages. Also, the Bulletin is available for viewing or downloading on a number of computer services, as well as the FBI’s home page. The home page address is http://www.fbi.gov.

Bulletin Reports

Homeland Security

In 2004, the Council of State Governments (CSG) and Eastern Kentucky University conducted a national survey of state law enforcement agencies to measure their changing roles in the post 9/11 era. Findings indicated that state police faced homeland security responsibilities while also shouldering new burdens due to shifting federal law enforcement priorities. To find out if these changes hold true today, CSG conducted a national follow-up survey in June 2006 to explore this question and identify emerging terrorism-related changes and trends. Some key findings are state law enforcement agencies continue to play critical roles in homeland security; intelligence sharing and analysis remain a high priority; homeland security roles and responsibilities continue to evolve; and collaboration with federal counterparts remains a priority to states. This report is available online at http://csg-web.csg.org/ pubs/Documents/Misc0506Terrorism. pdf.

Emergency Management

Bulletin Reports is an edited collection of criminal justice studies, reports, and project findings. Send your material for consideration to: FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Room 201, Madison Building, FBI Academy, Quantico, VA 22135. (NOTE: The material in this section is intended to be strictly an information source and should not be considered an endorsement by the FBI for any product or service.)

Weapons

The Bureau of Justice Statistics’Background Checks for Firearm Transfers, 2005 describes background checks for firearm transfers conducted during that year. This annual report features the number of applications checked by state points of contact and the estimated amount checked by local agencies; the number of applications rejected and the reasons for rejection; and estimates of applications and rejections for each type of approval system. It also provides information about appeals of rejected applications and arrests for falsified ones. The Firearm Inquiry Statistics Program is an ongoing data collection effort focusing on the procedures and statistics related to background checks in selected states .Highlights of this report include the following: among state and local checking agencies in 2005, 46 percent of all rejections for firearm transfers (about 30,000 applications)were due to a felony conviction or indictment; ATF field offices investigated 9,575 National Instant Criminal Background Check System denials referred by the FBI in2005; and, in 2005, agencies reported1,400 arrests of persons denied a firearm or a permit. This report is available on-line at http://ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/bcft05.pdf or by contacting the National Criminal Justice Reference Service at 800-851-3420.

Corrections

The Bureau of Justice Statistics offers Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004, which presents data from the2004 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities on prisoners’ prior use,dependence, and abuse of illegal drugs. Tables include trends in the levels of drug use, types of drugs used, and treatment reported by state and federal prisoners since the last national survey was conducted in 1997. This report is available online at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/dudsfp04.pdf or by contacting the National Criminal Justice Reference Service at 800-851-3420

Investigating Human Trafficking
Challenges, Lessons Learned, and Best Practices

By KEVIN BALES, Ph.D., and STEVEN LIZE, Ph.D.

Mexican driver of a_Arural taxi service called a Florida sheriff’s department to report a violent assault. Men armed with pistols and a 4-foot metal pole brutally beat van drivers and smashed the windows of their vehicles; the assailants accused them of stealing their workers. One of the perpetrators, a harvest crew boss, pistol whipped the van service owner across the forehead and then kicked and beat him into unconsciousness. Police arrived in time to arrest the crew boss and two of his accomplices, but the others escaped. The responding officers did not know it, but they had encountered an element of a human trafficking operation.

Passed in October 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) created new forced labor and sex trafficking criminal offenses for perpetrators, as well as protective measures for victims.¹ In the years 2001 to 2005, federal investigations of human trafficking quadrupled from 106 to 420, resulting in 95 prosecutions.² This laudable achievement reflects the resolute efforts of the U.S. criminal justice system. But, a great challenge still lies ahead. Of the estimated 14,500 to 17,500 people trafficked into the United States each year, only 1,000 have become liberated through the actions of law enforcement.³

The authors examined this issue, and a key guiding question drove their research: How can the investigations and subsequent prosecutions of traffickers be effectively increased? To address that question, the authors studied 12 cases of human trafficking from 1996 to 2002 to learn what worked best in the investigations that led to successful prosecutions and to identify the greatest challenges.⁴ In those case studies, the authors interviewed 30 law enforcement and criminal justice professionals with experience investigating human trafficking to gain their recommendations for best practices. Out of that research, the authors present practical steps that federal, state, and local agencies can implement for effective trafficking investigations.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

First Response

As illustrated in the opening scenario, local law enforcement personnel may encounter people in trafficking situations first. Often, they respond to investigate and detain criminals and witnesses after receiving an alert from a nongovernmental organization (NGO) or victim service provider. The authors found that in most successfully prosecuted trafficking investigations, local police detained victims, prepared reports, and assessed local and state charges. Responding investigators should begin the trafficking investigation while notifying DOJ of the matter. One police detective advised, “As the preliminary investigator, a lot of times you have the opportunity of gathering information that 3 days later when this...goes to the federal authorities, they might not be able to go back and get it. So, you being the front line have the first crack at it...you really have to...do a good job that first time around.”⁵

In most cases, however, NGOs and victim service providers or, perhaps, private citizens help trafficked persons before law enforcement gets involved. Typically, the intervener who assists the trafficking victim to freedom and safety responds first. At this stage, both detailed documentation of evidence and rapid subsequent response to mobilize federal investigators prove crucial. In cases where private citizens respond first, they may feel the need for urgent action but are unlikely to begin assembling the documentation and evidence chain needed for subsequent prosecution. They more likely will call the police, an NGO, protective shelter home, or community organization. NGOs with an established record of assisting trafficking victims and working with law enforcement agencies are important resources throughout the investigation process.

Victim Stabilization

Human trafficking investigations require careful treatment of victims and witnesses, upon whose testimony the case depends. Congress designated the TVPA to facilitate assistance services for trafficking survivors so that they can cooperate with law enforcement in the investigation of these crimes. Investigating agencies do well to put victims in contact with an appropriate attorney and social service provider so that they can move quickly to apply for a “continued presence” (stay of deportation) or “T nonimmigrant visa” (or, simply, “T visa”). This procedure also requires the law enforcement organization to provide an endorsement letter as soon as possible in support of the application. The challenging process of interviewing the victim, collecting corroborating evidence, and investigating perpetrators becomes more effective when the victim gains continued presence and begins accessing care and protection from a service provider.

Subsequent Actions

VICTIM AND WITNESS COOPERATION

Ultimately, the most successful results involved agents with experience in human trafficking cases. Such investigators show more sensitivity to the needs of the victims, know how best to handle them, and are aware of superior sources of information to corroborate evidence.

Not surprisingly, gaining the cooperation of victims as witnesses can prove challenging. Because of their distrust of police in their home countries, trafficking survivors usually fear U.S. law enforcement agents. Often, victims come from societies with corrupt authorities. Also, traffickers lie to them about police brutality and deportation; victims begin to believe that U.S. authorities will treat them as criminals, incarcerate them, or deport them. Overcoming this obstacle is important; as one FBI agent advised, “You can’t manufacture evidence—witnesses have to go to trial. It was very difficult gaining the cooperation of the victims so they would testify.”⁶

Also, human trafficking survivors often do not identify themselves as victims. Therefore, law enforcement agents may have difficulty detecting victims among detainees to separate them from perpetrators. As a result, investigators have treated trafficked persons as illegal immigrants or undocumented workers and prostitutes. Assigning such criminal identities can lead to incarceration and deportation of innocent victims. Ultimately, the investigating agents and prosecuting attorneys must gain their trust to muster cooperation.

Investigators and prosecutors can overcome the challenges of gaining victim and witness cooperation by showing compassion and making them feel comfortable. A veteran FBI human trafficking investigator advised, “I would be sympathetic, demonstrate concern, and demonstrate what I could do for them. I was trying to sell them on the fact that I was trying to make the bad guys pay and help them get justice. But, I had to be careful with the help I offered them. You can’t make promises you can’t keep. It is incumbent upon the investigator involved to do everything they can to overcome the victim’s concerns. And, in the end, hope they have the gumption to do what’s right—to testify...or...be willing to....”⁷

© PhotoDisc

AGENCY ROLES AND CHALLENGES

Human trafficking investigations require cooperation among numerous agencies and present many obstacles. As one investigator put it, “…the experience is very time consuming. You get one of these cases and...live with it for months as opposed to a case you can pick up and put down, like white-collar crimes. If you have a victim, you can’t just put them down and deal with them later.”⁸ Investigators may find it difficult to maintain motivation. The challenge of investigating human trafficking with victims and witnesses, many of whom are foreign nationals, requires a specialized approach.

The dominant mission of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents creates challenges for them as well. In this regard, these investigators may find it difficult to differentiate victims from criminals. As one DOJ prosecutor cautioned, “ICE agents are trained to interview about an immigrant’s status for deportation. That’s not where you want to start on a slavery investigation.”⁹ ICE agents must carefully consider their questioning strategy to elicit information about captivity, forced work, coerced sexual acts, and abuse by perpetrators. These investigators may consider working closely with prosecutors to secure corroborating testimony from trafficking victims and witnesses. They also may consult with specialist NGOs that provide services and advocacy to trafficked persons.

As many cases of human trafficking occur in formal workplaces, such as factories, farms, and restaurants, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), when paired with other federal law enforcement agencies, can provide effective assistance in investigating and prosecuting traffickers. Most trafficking cases occur in low-wage sectors without much labor law compliance. DOL investigators bring experience and insight into what to look for and how to interview trafficked laborers.

EVIDENCE COLLECTION

Information Gathering

Provided investigators know where to look, they can identify the clues to a trafficking crime and locate the victims and perpetrators. traffickers use ordinary methods of commerce for activities that support their crimes, such as renting hotel rooms or trailers; making cell phone calls; and buying clothes, supplies, and food for victims. Reviewing such records could provide evidence needed to support allegations of trafficking. Other traditional investigative methods, such as surveillance, analysis of trash and mail, undercover operations, and reviews of wire transfer records, also can reveal pertinent information.

Through their research, the authors discovered that human trafficking cases often required investigators to work in rural settings unfamiliar to many of them, especially, of course, those accustomed to urban locations. Undeveloped areas require investigators to navigate long distances and maneuver among, mainly, immigrant workers. Even cases in cities require investigation in communities full of people that distrust law enforcement. Particular urban, ethnic neighborhoods that are socially and culturally insulated may prove very difficult for investigators to enter.

Organizations experienced in working with law enforcement agents can serve as an important resource during investigations in settings where trafficking occurs. The nature of these crimes—usually involving immigrants and a victim needing assistance—requires proper social and cultural orientation to effectively gather criminal intelligence and swiftly arrest perpetrators. Ethnic community groups or immigrants’ and workers’ rights NGOs can assist in gaining entry to closed communities and in accessing information from victims and witnesses. However, law enforcement agencies should seek only the assistance of organizations with a proven record of helping trafficking victims and collaborating with authorities in these investigations.

INTERVIEW CONSIDERATIONS

Assessment of Charges

Challenges

Trafficking cases focus on the victim and, thus, rely on interviews as the fundamental source of evidence. Yet, the authors found that every law enforcement agent remarked on the great challenge of interviewing victims and witnesses. No matter how well the investigator or attorney develops trust with trafficked persons, victims may never tell their story in a single interview. Aside from the trauma of enslavement and abuse through trafficking, other sociological and psychological barriers impede victims during this process. These can include sociocultural difference, language, gender, and the investigator’s experience and training.

Issues relating to gender can affect the ease in which interviewers can obtain information from victims. For instance, trafficked women (e.g., those used for domestic servitude or agricultural work) and children frequently face sexual abuse or violence. Females from some cultures may be reluctant to seek assistance in these cases because of the shame and stigmatization that might come from disclosing their experience. Gender issues also affect how trafficked men interact with law enforcement personnel and service providers assisting them. Males from some cultures, particularly those with a very rigid concept of

Investigation of trafficking commonly requires communication in languages other than English. Not surprisingly, investigators fluent in the victims’ or witnesses’ languages see more success in interviewing. This also saves the time and expense of hiring interpreters.

Additionally, agents and prosecutors should remain sensitive to cultural differences that create communication barriers between people that speak the same language but who have different levels of formal education and who use a different local idiom. The authors found that bilingual agents experienced in interviewing Spanish-speaking trafficking victims were more effective when also familiar with the culture of the victims and witnesses. As an advocate from an NGO pointed out, “It’s not just a matter of being bilingual but also being able to know how to talk to people and ask questions in a way the witnesses can understand—not just in the phrasing of the questions but also in an order that makes sense to the witnesses.”¹² A bilingual Hispanic U.S. Border Patrol agent experienced in interviewing trafficking victims offered practical advice, “One thing I learned when interviewing Guatemalans is that they think and listen in their indigenous dialect. You are speaking Spanish to them, they are processing this, and a lot of times what comes out is not what you are looking for...you have to...rephrase your questions so they will actually understand them and know where you are coming from. That’s one of the things I think that most investigators are going to have to understand...to be very patient... because the dialects are different and their educational levels…. It’s pretty much a word game. They don’t understand your question, so you have to rephrase the same question maybe three or four times to arrive at the answer.”¹³

Similarly, investigators will encounter challenges in cases involving children. Interviewing may prove difficult because these young victims may not know the words or have suffi cient language skills to express what has happened to them.

Sources of Help

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) serves as a valuable source of assistance. It cosponsors the toll-free Trafficking in Persons and Worker Exploitation Complaint Line at 888-428-7581. Also, along with other organizations, such as Free the Slaves (826-324-FREE) and the Freedom Network/Safe Horizon (646-825-2227), the agency, through the Web site http://www.ojp.usdoj. gov/ovc/help/tip.htm, helps locate organizations with an established record of assisting with these incidents.

EVIDENCE CORROBORATION

In this case, federal agents subpoenaed maintenance employees from the apartment complex because they were the only witnesses who saw the victim working. Investigators also subpoenaed neighbors who noticed the victim and thought that she appeared school-age. The prosecutor even subpoenaed the records of the local elementary school to check if the victim was on the list of people allowed to pick up the employer’s children, as she said the perpetrator required her to. Initially, the FBI agent and prosecutors were concerned that the case against the traffickers would not be strong enough to prosecute. The federal agents fi nally considered the case ready when they found connections to evidence of the trafficker’s marriage and passport fraud.¹⁵

Cases wherein victims have escaped their traffickers and have likely fled the location or even the country pose challenges for investigators. Most trafficking survivors are immigrants with few economic resources and are relatively excluded from mainstream U.S. society. For that reason, escaped trafficking victims and witnesses can be difficult to locate and interview. A rural NGO assisting trafficked persons observed, “The biggest problem with working on these cases is catching the people who are all over the migrant farm-worker world—a world that’s the hardest to understand and most difficult to locate people. They must be located by word of mouth. It’s not as if you can just pick up the phone and call people or mail them a letter.”¹⁶

Some of the best sources of information for corroborating victim and witness testimonies are the employers’ own documents. Also, in many cases where perpetrators told victims they owed a debt, investigators found a record of that

Corroborating evidence in poorly regulated or insufficiently monitored industries is difficult. An FBI agent on a case in which Eastern European women were forced to dance in strip clubs cited barriers to gaining documentation or corroborating evidence from club owners due to their “independent contracting” practices (of the dancers), not keeping employment records, and having obstructive attorneys. Investigators of trafficking cases in rural areas also had difficulty talking to witnesses working in the fields. Crew leaders often did not cooperate when agents or NGOs tried to interview workers as potential witnesses. Similarly, with forced prostitution cases in rural areas, lookouts spotted law enforcement agents far in advance of their arrival, and the traffickers had ample time to alert members of the operation and relocate victims.

ARRESTS AND LIBERATION

Once investigators have brought their evidence to the prosecutor, the decision will be made as to the feasibility of pursuing the case. In most instances, law enforcement officers will need to arrest the suspected trafficker, thus requiring a search warrant to raid a compound, brothel, or private home where perpetrators hold trafficking victims.

In most of the cases the authors studied, local law enforcement—often, the first responders—intervened or arrested an associate of the trafficking conspiracy prior to action by federal authorities (as in the case described at the beginning of this article). In some instances, the intervention was in response to a disturbance call

CONCLUSION

The disturbing crime of human trafficking presents many hurdles for law enforcement. These challenging, time-consuming investigations require the efforts of different agencies in cooperation with each other. Agents investigating these crimes encounter many unique obstacles.

The authors drew from case studies and interviews of law enforcement and criminal justice professionals with experience investigating human trafficking to gain their recommendations for best practices and offer practical steps that federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies can implement to improve trafficking investigations. Investigators should become familiar with these techniques. By educating themselves and working together, agencies across the United States can effectively address these hideous crimes as they occur.

Endnotes

¹ Trafficking Victims Protection Act, Public Law 106-386 (October 28, 2000).

² U.S. Department of Justice, Attorney General’s Annual Report to Congress on

³ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “HHS Announces 1000th Victim of Human Trafficking Certified”; retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/ news/press/2006/1000_traffi cking_ victims_certifi ed.htm

⁴ The authors based this article on their NIJ-funded research. The full report is titled “Traffi cking in Persons in the United States: A Report to the National Institute of Justice” and is available through the National Criminal Justice Reference Service at http://www.ncjrs.gov.

⁵ Chicago Police Department, Organized Crime Division, interview by the authors, November 2002, Chicago, IL.

⁶ FBI special agent, interview by the authors, November 2002, Chicago, IL.

⁷ Ibid.

⁸ Ibid.

⁹ DOJ Civil Rights Division attorney, interview by the authors, May 2003, Washington, DC.

¹⁰ In addition to violations of the TVPA, other committed offenses have at one time or another contributed to the prosecution of human traffi cking cases. These have included, for example, conspiracy against civil rights, extortionate collection of extensions of credit, kidnapping, alien smuggling, and harboring of illegal aliens.

¹¹DOJ Civil Rights Division attorney, interview by the authors, May 2003, Washington, DC.

¹² NGO, interview by the authors, March 2003, Immokalee, FL.

¹³ Supra note 9.

¹⁴ AUSA, interview by the authors, July 2002, Greenbelt, MD.

¹⁵ Ibid. 16 NGO, interview by the authors, March 2003, Immokalee, FL.

FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin
Author Guidelines

Length: Manuscripts should contain 2,000 to 3,500 words (8 to 14 pages, double-spaced) for feature articles and 1,200 to 2,000 words (5 to 8 pages, double-spaced) for specialized departments, such as Police Practice.

Format: Authors should submit three copies of their articles typed and double-spaced on 8 ½- by 11-inch white paper with all pages numbered, along with an electronic version saved on computer disk, or e-mail them.

Criteria: The Bulletin judges articles on relevance to the audience, factual accuracy, analysis of the information, structure and logical fl ow, style and ease of reading, and length. It generally does not publish articles on similar topics within a 12-month period or accept those previously published or currently under consideration by other magazines. Because it is a government publication, the Bulletin cannot accept articles that advertise a product or service. To ensure that their writing style meets the Bulletin’s requirements, authors should study several issues of the magazine and contact the staff or access http://www.fbi. gov/publications/leb/leb.htm for the expanded author guidelines, which contain additional specifi cations, detailed examples, and effective writing techniques. The Bulletin will advise authors of acceptance or rejection but cannot guarantee a publication date for accepted articles, which the staff edits for length, clarity, format, and style.

Submit to: Editor, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, FBI Academy, Madison Bldg., Room 201, Quantico, VA 22135; telephone: 703-632-1952; fax: 703-632-1968; e-mail: leb@fbiacademy.edu.

The Bulletin Notes

Law enforcement officers are challenged daily in the performance of their duties; they face each challenge freely and unselfishly while answering the call to duty. In certain instances, their actions warrant special attention from their respective departments. The Bulletin also wants to recognize those situations that transcend the normal rigors of the law enforcement profession.

Early one morning, Officers E.J. Windham and Scott Harpster of the Upper Arlington, Ohio, Division of Police responded to a fire at a senior citizen residential complex. The flames had started in a first-floor suite, and two elderly residents were trapped in the burning, smoke-filled room. Quickly, both officers entered the suite and, with minimal visibility, rescued a male resident. After learning of a second trapped victim, Officers Windham and Harpster reentered, located a wheelchair-bound woman, and carried her to safety. After rescuing both residents, they repeatedly returned to the complex to help evacuate the remaining victims. The brave, decisive actions of Officers Windham and Harpster saved the lives of the elderly residents.

While on his way to work, Officer Todd Myers of the West Hartford, Connecticut, Police Department, watched as a dump truck loaded with dirt and boulders lost control on a steep hill. It overturned, crushed several cars and a transit bus stopped for a red light at the bottom of the hill, and burst into fl ames amid the wrecked vehicles. Immediately, Officer Myers reported the crash and ran toward the wreckage. As he approached the area, he heard cries coming from inside burning vehicles. Officer Myers ran to a compact car with a woman trapped inside. He began to throw dirt on the fl ames, containing them as long as possible, and used his pocketknife to cut the victim from her seatbelt. Officer Myers pulled her from the vehicle just before it became fully engulfed; he suffered first- and second-degree burns. After helping the woman move to a safe area, he returned to assist others. Officer Myers then freed the trapped and critically injured driver of the burning transit bus. As other respondents arrived, he continued to assist rescue efforts until all of the victims received aid. Officer Myers demonstrated bravery and professionalism throughout this ordeal.

Nominations for the Bulletin Notes should be based on either the rescue of one or more citizens or arrest(s) made at unusual risk to an officer’s safety. Submissions should include a short write-up (maximum of 250 words), a separate photograph of each nominee, and a letter from the department’s ranking officer endorsing the nomination. Submissions should be sent to the Editor, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, FBI Academy, Madison Building, Room 209, Quantico, VA 22135

U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation