Recently, we took an in-depth look at human trafficking and how it impacts many within this country, especially immigrants and children. Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has some new initiatives that aim to combat the fastest-growing criminal industry in the world.
He agrees with the groups fighting human trafficking, who say that the perpetrators of the crime will not be stopped and prosecuted if law enforcement agencies don’t recognize it in all its forms—or know how to act when they do. One challenge is stopping online traffickers who solicit through such Websites as Craigslist and Backpage.com. The Attorney General says Craigslist has been cooperative in removing ads and links that may be underground prostitution rings.
“But even within Craigslist, the bad guys come up with new ways to advertise themselves, so there’s this continual cat and mouse game, but that’s where it’s most obviously different from …you know, prostitution rings and other things like that.”
So far, Backpage.com has not complied with requests by the Attorney General and his state counterparts to remove similar ads. To proactively address online and other trafficking, Cuccinelli recently hosted a first-of-its-kind training seminar–with the Justice Department, law enforcement, and prosecutors.
— Tommy McNeil
Virginia Public Radio 