NNPD Participates in Partnership to Address Human Trafficking

The Newport News Police Department (NNPD) has been chosen to participate in TraffickSTOP (Signs To Observe and Prevent), a special project designed to help prevent the human trafficking of teenagers. This program is both a human trafficking identification and prevention curriculum for high school students, as well as a training for law enforcement to deliver the curriculum in schools. The NNPD is one of only two jurisdictions nationally asked to participate in the pilot program. They are collaborating with the Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force and Newport News Public Schools to implement the program. Through this new program, a seasoned NNPD School Resource Officer will be trained on how best to educate students on the dangers of human trafficking and how to avoid being put into a situation of potential exploitation. The resource officers will then deliver the curriculum to students, along with members of the Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force and others, and with support from other community stakeholders. The federal program is supported by the Office for Victims of Crime, the Office of Justice Programs, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the National White Collar Crime Center. According to Anti-Trafficking International, the average age of exploitation in the United States is 12-15 years old. Every 30 seconds, a child or teen is sold into slavery and there are 14.5 million victims globally, making it the second largest worldwide criminal enterprise. For more information, visit www.preventht.org