TULSA, Okla. — The Department of Justice is sending $1.3 million to Tulsa to fight against human trafficking.
The money comes from a cooperative agreement with the DOJ's Office for Victims of Crime.
The Oklahoma Coalition Against Human Trafficking (OCAT) says there may be a misconception that human trafficking doesn't happen in Oklahoma, but the Tulsa Police Department says statistics show it does.
"Starting back in 2021, a total of 104 individuals had been arrested for human trafficking-related offenses and 29 victims have been rescued in this last quarter," says Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin.
OCAT says there were 111 reported cases of human trafficking in our state in 2020.
This coalition is made up of 37 agencies and was formed in 2013 as an unfunded task force focused on child trafficking. In 2019, the organization expanded its scope to include adults and labor trafficking. Now, the coalition is receiving more than a million dollars from federal funding.
The money will go toward community resources, law enforcement investigations, and prosecutions.
"Working with improving victims services," says Karen Smith, at Family Safety Center. "Making sure that once the victims are identified, that they have the resources through things that are currently available, or things that we find gaps in really trying to help with those gaps. So victims don't feel like they have to go back into the situation."
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