Human Trafficking in Correctional Institutions: A Survey of Correctional and Anti-Trafficking Leaders

ABSTRACT

Growing awareness of the overlap between justice involvement and human trafficking victimization has led to calls for correctional institutions to prevent, identify, and respond to trafficking. However, it is unclear how correctional facilities (i.e., jails and prisons) are responding to such calls to action. To examine current efforts to address human trafficking in U.S. correctional facilities, this study surveyed correctional and anti-trafficking leaders (n = 46) about their perceptions and experiences with human trafficking screening, response, and training in correctional facilities. Although the majority of leaders (89%) agreed individuals in their state’s correctional facilities have experienced human trafficking, they generally did not perceive that correctional staff were prepared to respond. Bivariate tests revealed that correctional and anti-trafficking leaders differed on their perceptions regarding correctional staffs’ knowledge about human trafficking risk factors (p = .014), identification ability (p = .006), and response knowledge (p = .036), with anti-trafficking leaders perceiving correctional staff to be less prepared in these areas. Approximately 16% of leaders reported strategies to identify and respond to trafficking in correctional facilities, and about 27% reported human trafficking training for corrections staff. To promote a just society, study findings offer preliminary guidance for anti-trafficking correctional initiatives and future research.

KEYWORDS:

• Human trafficking
• prison
• jail
• correctional leaders
• anti-trafficking leaders
• survey

Acknowledgments

For their support of and contributions to this project, we acknowledge and thank Nicole Sullivan, Director of Reentry Programs and Services at the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, as well as Christine Shaw Long, Executive Director of the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission. In addition, we acknowledge and thank the Correctional Leaders Association, especially Jill Stewart and Katie Scott, for their help and support.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This project was supported by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety Reentry Programs and Services (#DPS-22238379-JEC) through a grant from the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this product are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety or the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission. Tonya B. Van Deinse was supported by The Lifespan/Brown Criminal Justice Research Training Program which is funded by National Institute on Drug Abuse (R25DA037190).