OKLAHOMA CITY – A new law has created a unit in the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office which will keep better figures about human trafficking cases in the state.
Passage of House Bill 4210 was praised by Ahsha Morin, executive director of the Lawton-based The Red Cord, an educational nonprofit that teaches people about anti-trafficking strategies and how to help avoid tragic and dangerous situations.
“This (HB 4210) is huge,” Morin said. “Whenever somebody asks about data, we don’t have a good answer. Sometimes law enforcement doesn’t report a case as human trafficking because other crimes are involved. This will force law enforcement to work with us or really anybody who is involved fighting human trafficking. This will put everybody involved on the same page.”
Morin said the data collection unit in the AG’s office will be responsible for providing a more accurate portrayal of human trafficking in Oklahoma.
“It creates a central location for human trafficking data,” she said. “It’s also great for grant writing when we seek money that goes for educational purposes. But our community wants to know, too.”
The most recent data shows Oklahoma had 100 cases of human trafficking, but Morin said that figure is too low and does not reflect the true picture of the crime.
HB 4210 establishes the Human Trafficking Response Unit within the attorney general’s office. The unit will create and maintain data related to human trafficking, so law enforcement and victim support groups have a consistent way to share information. The unit will also be responsible for developing training programs to assist agencies and victims of human trafficking, as well as publish public service announcements on the dangers of human trafficking.
HB 4210, which was signed into law by Gov. Kevin Stitt on May 20, also encourages law enforcement agencies to participate in anti-human trafficking training sessions. Morin and The Red Cord recently held a training session in Lawton with 40 law enforcement officers attending.
“That was 40 from the entire state,” she said. “We should have had that many from LPD (Lawton Police Department). Passage of this bill also tells the public this is a real problem and it’s bigger than the numbers reflect. We have a law that requires domestic violence reports and figures be kept and human trafficking needs that too, and now we as victim support groups and educators have that.”
The bill was co-authored by state Rep. Daniel Pae (R-Lawton). Pae was unavailable for comment.
Rep. Jeff Boatman (R-Tulsa) filed the measure along with Pae and other lawmakers after working with the Advisory Task Force on Prevention of Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation. The task force examined human trafficking, prostitution and child exploitation in Oklahoma and made recommendations to the Legislature on methods to slow or stop the acts.
“Domination and abuse of another person is one of the most reprehensible things someone can do,” Boatman said in a prepared statement. “This bill is a big win in the fight against the vile individuals that prey upon our children and the most defenseless among us.”
Boatman said he’s seen firsthand the lasting trauma trafficking victims endure, as a close family member was trafficked during their childhood.
HB 4210 was authored in the Senate by Sen. Darrell Weaver (R-Moore), who was previously director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control.
“Our efforts here in the Legislature to target human trafficking are so important for the countless victims who are being horribly exploited right here in Oklahoma,” Weaver said. “It’s something I worked to address during my career in law enforcement and that’s continued here in the Legislature. This measure represents another critical step in addressing this crime and better supporting victims.”
HB 4210 goes into effect immediately.
The AG’s office has estimated it will need a minimum of five full-time employees to get the human trafficking unit operational. The employees will include one attorney, two investigators and one legal assistant. The cost for the positions is about $420,000, a legislative summary shows.
About $2.4 million will be needed to make the unit totally functional for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Additional funding may be needed in future years depending on the volume and scale of human trafficking investigations and cases.