A Comparative Analysis of Human Trafficking: The United States of America (USA) and the Republic of South Africa (RSA)

Abstract

Human trafficking is a serious global problem that transcends international borders and disciplinary boundaries. It presents a conglomeration of problems generally dealt with by public health, criminal justice, social service and immigration agencies. Victim advocates state that millions are victimized each year. The data suggest that law enforcement agencies perceive human trafficking to be of greater, or equal, concern for the myriad of social institutions and participants affected by human trafficking than for law enforcement, itself. Policy recommendations are to refocus the law enforcement response-which may include various approaches that can simultaneously benefit public health-by incorporating an Epidemiological Criminology framework to help to guide the development of more systematic and integrative insight into the world of human trafficking.

Environmental Influences on Sheriff Perceptions and Strategies

“…However, the perceived concern of the community and of the media were not statistically significantly different from sheriffs' perceptions of the agencies' concern. (Lanier et al 2014). This suggests that sheriffs viewed themselves as having similar concerns as their community, supporting the idea that they are more influenced by the citizenry (or perceive themselves to be) and that local sovereigns may have greater impact than national.…”

“…Because actual trafficking cases would represent a reality that might influence sheriff and sovereigns' attitudes and, subsequently, sheriff responses to trafficking, the four states with the most and the four states with the fewest reports (but at least 2) were selected. Florida was among the highest, but due to recent work by Lanier et al (2014), it was excluded so as to get a more unique sample. Alaska and Hawaii were among the lowest reporting but were excluded, as Alaska does not have sheriffs and Hawaii only has one.…”

“…Police agencies play an important role in communities around the world, making understanding them critical. Many researchers have examined the impact of the environment on the behaviors and attitudes of police agencies (Brudney & Hebert 1987;Burruss & Giblin 2014;Burruss, Giblin, & Schafer 2010;Crank 1990;Crank & Langworthy 1992;Farris & Holman 2017;Giblin 2006;Lanier, Farrell, and Bezuidenhout 2014;Matusiak, King, & Maguire 2016;Morabito 2008;Willis & Mastrofski 2011;Zhao, Lovrich, & Robinson 2001). Understanding the influence of the environment on police agencies is important to understanding the behaviors and attitudes of police actors.…”

“…Understanding the influence of the environment on police agencies is important to understanding the behaviors and attitudes of police actors. Attitudes can influence which issues are identified by police agencies as problems (Lanier et al 2014), subsequently impacting the innovation and adoption of police practices to address those issues. As such, the influence of the environment on police attitudes must be understood in order to better implement policies and practices to address both existing and emerging issues.…”

“…As stated earlier, sheriffs are unique in their position as elected law enforcement officials which may in turn make them more responsive to the citizenry than to the government. In fact, Lanier et al (2014) posited that political and community pressures may influence on which laws sheriffs focus. They studied sheriffs in Florida with regard to their views of human trafficking and their views of environmental concerns about human trafficking.…”