Research Summary The police have a duty to provide assistance to crime victims. Despite the importance of this role, scholars examining police effectiveness have historically been less attentive to the needs of victims. As the police are increasingly called on to combat sex and labor trafficking crimes, it is timely to explore how this new population of victims is served by the police. Information from a review of human trafficking investigations and in‐depth interviews with police and service providers in three U.S. communities indicates that human trafficking victims often do not trust the police and rarely seek their assistance. When the police do respond, human trafficking victims seek affirmation of their experiences and safety from future harm. Policy Implications Recommendations are offered to improve police responses to human trafficking victims including efforts to build trust, promote victim safety, and meet the needs of victims outside of the justice system.

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Scholars and practitioners have drawn attention to the issue of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) of minors, yet we continue to lack a clear understanding of which factors increase a minor’s risk to this type of victimization. The current article reviews the literature about the impact of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse on the risk of CSE. The study utilizes quantitative meta-analytical techniques to estimate an overall impact of prior abuse. Nineteen studies were selected after a comprehensive search of electronic databases covering the fields of social science, criminology, psychology, or related fields. To be included in the analyses, all articles had to measure the direct impact of sexual, physical, and/or emotional abuse on minor’s risk to CSE, utilizing multivariate techniques and presenting statistical metrics to assess the impact of prior abuse. Key findings demonstrate that sexual abuse considerably increases the risk of exploitation, especially among female youth in the United States. Physical and emotional abuse show negligible or no significant independent impacts, even though a few studies have begun to suggest that experiencing multiple types of childhood abuse may aggravate a risk of sexual exploitation. Our findings can guide further research on the impact of prior victimizations and inform screening instruments that are being developed to identify youth at risk of CSE.

Objective: To examine labor trafficking victimizations as forms of repeat victimization and polyvictimization. Method: The study uses secondary cross-sectional data about 115 labor-trafficked persons in the United States who received services after the labor trafficking experience. Through multivariate regression analyses, victimization patterns were investigated at each primary stage of the trafficking process (recruitment, transportation, employment). Results: Our findings demonstrate patterns of repeat victimization and polyvictimization among labor-trafficked persons. Prior victimization experiences before the onset of the trafficking significantly increased the odds of experiencing victimization during the initial stages of the trafficking process (recruitment and transportation). Victimization experiences during these initial stages further increased the risk of experiencing a higher count of polyvictimization during the final stage of the trafficking process (employment). Conclusions: Our study lays the groundwork for an analytical framework upon which to evaluate labor trafficking. The results call for early intervention and comprehensive assistance programs that take into account enduring and cumulative victimization patterns in order to meet the needs of identified labor-trafficked persons.