The Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) is spreading awareness of January’s National Human Trafficking Prevention Month by sharing resources with frontline employees, bolstering training and launching a public awareness campaign.
The agency’s awareness campaign focuses on educating the community about the impacts of human trafficking, signs that someone may be a victim and ways to report suspicious behaviors. The campaign launched in early January and includes community outreach events and posting resources at stops, stations and on Denver RTD’s buses and trains.
"RTD’s bus and rail operators directly interact with customers and play an important role in recognizing human trafficking,” said Denver RTD General Manager and CEO Debra A. Johnson. “Traffickers often use public transportation to move victims in plain sight. This deplorable crime is everywhere, including in Colorado. It is not the fault of the victim – we all share a collective responsibility to watch for this behavior and report it to authorities.”
Bus terminals and train stations are key locations where traffickers target victims, according to the Polaris Project, a human trafficking nonprofit organization. Denver RTD is joining the Federal Transit Administration and transit agencies across the country in educating employees and the public about warning signs and intervention.
The Colorado Human Trafficking Council, which is part of the Colorado Department of Public Safety, defines trafficking as a crime where someone severely exploits another person for labor or commercial sex using force, fraud or coercion. This can include victims being forced to work long hours as domestic help for little or no pay. Traffickers often take away a victim’s identification information, which can hinder their ability to access transportation tickets or rideshare services.
To help prevent trafficking in the Denver Metro area, Denver RTD Transit Police regularly trains its officers to recognize, identify and report human trafficking. Officers are certified in investigating human trafficking and many members of the agency’s law enforcement recently participated in a training webinar sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) about anti-trafficking response initiatives. Transit Police also recently partnered with the Denver Police Department and FBI to conduct an operation to better recognize and provide assistance to young adults who are at-risk, runaway or victimized. The law enforcement agencies will continue to work together to support combined efforts focused on preventing human trafficking.
Denver RTD notes trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes worldwide and it subjects an estimated 50 million people to modern slavery. Safe House Project estimates there are more than 5,400 victims of human trafficking in Colorado annually.
Individuals susceptible to being targeted for human trafficking include those experiencing poverty, substance abuse addiction, unstable living situations and/or lack support or access to services.
Red flags that may signal trafficking
Red flags that someone may be a victim of human trafficking include:
- Customers who are not allowed to speak for themselves and/or whose tickets or ID are being controlled by another person.
- Customers who seem confused or afraid, have markings or tattoos that could be a trafficker’s branding or make a comment about needing to make a quota.
- Anyone – particularly minors – who does not know the person they are traveling to meet or perhaps are going to meet a “friend from the internet”.
- A person in the transit center or terminal who regularly approaches people who look vulnerable, perhaps to recruit them or start the grooming process.
Individuals who suspect someone is a trafficker should contact law enforcement instead of confronting the person directly.
