Structural Responses to Gendered Social Problems: Police Agency Adaptations to Human Trafficking

Abstract

The identification and investigation of human trafficking cases has lagged behind what prevalence estimates of the scope of the crime have suggested. Previous research has identified the importance of formalized responses to human trafficking for the successful identification of these cases, but little is known about the factors predicting the creation of specialized human trafficking units. The current study uses both primary and secondary data and a theoretical framework informed by structural contingency and representative bureaucracy to identify predictors of specialized human trafficking units in large municipal police departments in the United States. Penalized maximum likelihood estimation revealed only agency size and social disorganization were significant predictors of these specialized units. Directions for future research are included.

Demanding Reduction: A County-level Analysis Examining Structural Determinants of Human Trafficking Arrests in Florida

“…Additionally, it is important to remember that though there has been an increase in human trafficking task forces across the state, each task force is at different stages of development. Therefore, pervasive organizational responses to human trafficking activity may take time to notice (Jurek & King, 2020). However, as human trafficking task forces continue to establish their efforts targeted toward making an impact on this social problem and human trafficking data quality improves, future research may find a stronger association between participation in a task force and locations of trafficking arrests.…”

“…Research has found that the number of human trafficking cases leading to an arrest is primarily determined by varying degrees of law enforcement knowledge and efforts to combat this human rights issue (Farrell & Pfeffer, 2014;Farrell et al, 2010Jurek & King, 2020). As is the case in Central Florida, the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI), a vice squad covering the ninth judicial circuit, is the "front line" for human trafficking.…”

“…Being on the front line with the knowledge and assignment to seek out human trafficking, they are much more likely than federal agencies to also be in a position to encounter and respond to human trafficking (De Baca & Tisi 2002;Farrell et al, 2019;Wilson et al, 2006). On the other hand, smaller police agencies and those organized without a special vice unit, notably, are not necessarily less likely to encounter a human trafficking victim, but it may be they are less likely to be trained to recognize human trafficking activity or to identify it as a priority amid their reactionary style of policing (Jurek & King, 2020). More commonly, scholars have noted that officers perform their everyday tasks while under the impression that trafficking is not a problem within their jurisdiction (Farrell et al, 2008(Farrell et al, , 2010Wilson et al, 2006).…”

“…Made available through publicly available data from Florida Department of Law Enforcement's (FDLE) website, the count of police agencies per county was recorded. Seeing as the organizational presence of law enforcement agencies in a community is correlated to population size (Farrell et al, 2010;Jurek & King, 2020), the count of police agencies in this study was also used as a proxy for county population.…”

The efficacy of law

“…As the resonance of the law, the police or other state apparatuses play a role in a series of prevention and intervention strategies to overcome violations. The response of the police or state apparatuses in dealing with breaches of social restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19, such as in the case of domestic violence, human rights violations, human trafficking (Jurek & King, 2019), and other forms of illegal activities, is difficult to predict. Inequality and legal uncertainty are also important aspects.…”