Miami-Dade Fire Rescue gets training on how to spot human trafficking at Miami International

MIAMI – Members of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue underwent training Thursday at Miami International on how to identify human trafficking victims at the airport, a problem detectives said was a reality in South Florida.

Florida ranks third in the U.S. in human trafficking cases reported by states, behind only California and Texas, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. In 2021, the hotline received 2,894 signals from Florida, with 1,146 of these signals being received from victims or survivors of human trafficking in the form of calls, texts, online chats, and tips.

According to Kristi House, Miami-Dade County ranks first in the state for the number of cases reported, where approximately 67 percent of sex trafficking victims are local, and 40 percent are minors.

Seventy percent of victims are trafficked through airports with the average life expectancy of a victim being seven years.

Miami-Dade police Detective Jessica Barrier, with the department's Organized Crimes Bureau Human Trafficking Squad, said human trafficking is a daily crime hidden in our backyard, covering both sex trafficking and human labor trafficking.

Although spotting human trafficking they say isn't easy, detectives with the department's human trafficking squad, say body language is a big thing to look out for.

“They will try to always manipulate the relationship, so there's always going to be a victim who's going to stand back and allow the person they're accompanied by to standby speak up for them,” said Barrier.

“It follows if you see something, say something. We then can call our resources at the airport and then conduct further investigation and get to the root cause if it turns out to be something,” said John Rojas with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's airport operation.

The Miami-Dade Police Organized Crimes Bureau Human Trafficking Squad organized and helped with training.

While all members of the county's fire department undergo training for spotting human trafficking, the training for the airport's fire department operation was more extensive as most victims are trafficked through airports