Collier County deputies training to bring more awareness to human trafficking crimes

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — In order to fight a growing number of human trafficking cases in the state of Florida, the Collier County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) is now training its deputies to recognize and respond to the crimes.

CCSO told NBC2 that they have made more than 20 arrests for human trafficking in the last few years in our area. Those arrests have led to about 70 victims being rescued.

“I envision this as a community-based program to bring awareness of human trafficking… and how to stop — and how to report it,” said Sheriff Kevin Rambosk.

The program, taught to deputies via the Human Trafficking Training Center, will focus on recognizing when people are in vulnerable situations, when deputies can react, and how to open up an investigation.

“If you think about what human trafficking is — it's one person controlling another. We want people to gain an eye for what that looks like. One of the biggest vulnerabilities for human trafficking is online behavior. If you are a parent today and you have young kids with a phone, we encourage watching what your kids are doing online. It's two steps, recognizing that this is potential human trafficking. Then what are best practices for talking to a victim — getting them help– how to start an investigation — those kinds of things,” said Alison Philips with the Human Trafficking Center.

Sheriff Rambosk said that in previous years, human trafficking was not treated as seriously as it should be, typically focusing on prostitution and sex work.

“Human Trafficking has been around for a long long time,  and law enforcement didn't look at it as such. They looked at it as more prostitution. I can emphatically tell you that is not the case. Young ladies, in particular, do not choose this as a career field. That's our philosophy here,” said Sheriff Rambosk.

Resource centers for victims, including the Collier County-based Shelter for Abused Women & Children, have seen more victims of human trafficking in the last few years.

“Gone are the days of people importing victims of human trafficking — not that it doesn't happen. We are seeing more local victims. It's very concerning… but I believe human trafficking is happening in every community, not just here in Naples,” said Linda Oberhaus, the CEO at the Shelter for Abused Women & Children.

The shelter encourages anyone who is a victim to call or text the crisis hotline for help. The number is 239-775-1101.

“It's only going to help us be a safer community. We will be able to identify who these traffickers are — who the buyers are — help victims get safe,” said Oberhaus.