This training for first responder personnel includes three lessons and a final exam. The lessons will help you understand what human trafficking is, who can become a victim, and how you can play a role in identifying and responding to suspected victims.

As a first responder, you are often first on the scene in an emergency. This gives you the unique opportunity to notice signs of human trafficking.

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify what human trafficking is.
• Identify who can potentially become a victim.
• Identify how first responders can respond to suspected victims of human trafficking.

Simply put, human trafficking is modern day slavery.

Every year, men, women, and children are exploited in every part of the world, including here in the United States.

Human trafficking happens everywhere across our communities in cities, suburbs, and rural areas.

It's a highly profitable crime, and a violation of basic human rights.

Human trafficking occurs when an individual is exploited through force, fraud, or coercion for forced labor, domestic servitude, or commercial sex.

Importantly, under US law, any minor under the age of 18 who has engaged in commercial sex is a victim of human trafficking, regardless of whether force, fraud, or coercion is involved.

When we talk about human trafficking, we're talking about a specific crime against a person.

Don't confuse human trafficking with human smuggling.

They're different crimes.

While human trafficking is the illegal exploitation of a person, human smuggling is the illegal movement of a person across a border, whether by land, air, or sea.

Anyone can be a victim of human trafficking. Victims can be any age, race, ethnicity, gender, sex, or nationality, and they can come from any socioeconomic background.

In the same way, traffickers can be any age, race, ethnicity, gender, sex, or nationality, and come from any socioeconomic background.

Some traffickers operate as part of a larger criminal organization, such as a gang or cartel, while others operate individually.

Traffickers may also be related to the victim, such as a parent or guardian. Human trafficking is in our communities, often hidden from view because the indicators are unknown.

It is extremely rare for victims to self-report, to seek help, or to attempt escape due to fear.

Threats from their traffickers keep many victims from speaking out or seeking help.

First responders like you play a crucial role in identifying victims of human trafficking and helping them get the help they need.

Because you are able to enter homes and treat victims in emergency situations, you have the opportunity to interact with victims to an extent which traffickers would otherwise generally not allow.

Therefore, you are uniquely positioned to identify indicators of human trafficking and respond appropriately.

Through the Blue Campaign, the Department of Homeland Security is working to combat human trafficking by raising awareness of these criminal activities.

First responders like you are vital partners in the Blue Campaign's fight against human trafficking.

Whether you are a firefighter, emergency medical technician-- EMT-- or paramedic, emergency dispatcher, or law enforcement officer, you are vital to the health and security of people in this nation.

You can also play a vital role in eliminating human trafficking.

Continue on to the next lesson to learn about the most common indicators of human trafficking.

There's no typical look of a human trafficking victim.
You can't rely on nationality, socioeconomic status, age, gender, sex, race, or ethnicity as a means of identifying possible victims.
Despite the fact that victims might be difficult to identify indicators of this crime often occur in plain sight.
You just have to know what to look for.
The suspected victim of human trafficking may show signs of fear, nervousness, malnourishment, sleep deprivation, untreated illness, physical abuse, or might exhibit other unusual behaviors.
It may become apparent that the victims do not have control over their own documents or money.
Someone else often holds the victim's means of payment or identification.
Other common indicators that a person is being trafficked include visible signs of physical abuse or torture, lack of eye contact, fear of speaking with others, and restricted or monitored communications by the trafficker or another victim acting in place of the trafficker.
In the course of your duties you may be called to schools.
Child victims may exhibit general signs of sexual and physical abuse. 
They may be excessively truant, have unstable housing, dress too provocatively for their age, have academic problems, and may have social or emotional difficulties. 
Victims may be afraid of being touched and may even flinch away from physical contact. 
They may be nervous or fearful of discussing their injuries or problems. 
The school may report various people picking the child up from school or that the child seems to hang out with much older people. 
While no single indicator is a definite sign of human trafficking, you should keep in mind the totality of the circumstances. 
It is important to remember that depending on the victim's actual or perceived relationship to the trafficker the victim may feel a sense of loyalty. 

The trafficker may be the victim's parent or someone the victim considers a boyfriend, for example. 
This can increase the victim's reluctance to discuss problems, injuries, or living conditions. 
Finally, there are a number of common environmental indicators of human trafficking. 
Overcrowded or substandard living conditions and restricted or monitored transportation are two common indicators. 

A building may appear to be in use but with boarded up windows and extra locks on fences or doors. 
These buildings may be heavily monitored by surveillance equipment. 
You may also encounter living spaces with a large number of occupants where residents lack private space, personal possessions, or financial records. 
Other environmental and situational indicators include people frequently moved back and forth by the potential trafficker, houses or hotels where heavy foot traffic has been noticed, and workers who seem to live on or near work premises. 
Now that you know the common indicators of human trafficking, let's take a look at indicators specific to your role. 
Law enforcement officer, first responder, dispatcher. 

As a law enforcement officer you work tirelessly to protect your community and maintain law and order. 
Because you will be out in the community every day it is particularly important for you to know potential indicators. 
Most human trafficking cases start at the local level, but may go unseen if the indicators are not widely known. 
Sex trafficking may be particularly difficult to identify. 
It is commonly mistaken for voluntary prostitution. 
The best way to avoid that mistake is to know the indicators of human trafficking and to pay careful attention to the words and behaviors of individuals involved. 
Specifically, you may unknowingly deal with human trafficking situations when you encounter homeless and runaway juveniles, domestic violence calls, nuisance calls related to a large amount of foot traffic in and out of the house, or many cars parked on the street, gang activity, crimes involving immigrant children with no guardians, and situations that seem to be drug or prostitution related. 
In the case of traffic stops, it's possible you may encounter vans that are being utilized for sex trafficking. 

There may be blankets cots or mattresses on the van floor as well as provocative clothing such as lingerie, sexual fetish items, and condoms present. 
Look at these cases carefully, if anything seems strange about them, such as one individual speaking for another, signs of prolonged abuse or untreated illness, or evidence of any of the common indicators, there may be more to the situation than meets the eye. 
Traffickers often take and hold the identification and travel information for their victims. 
If an individual lacks either, or if someone else is holding their information for them, consider it a potential indicator of human trafficking. 
As a first responder you are often first on the scene in an emergency. 
Whether you are attending to a house fire, a collision on a highway, or conducting a health assessment, you have the opportunity to notice telltale signs of human trafficking. 
Be aware of the common behaviors you heard earlier and take note of anything that seems strange. 
If an individual refuses to speak to you, seems fearful of something outside of the situation, or displays signs of abuse, you may have encountered a victim of human trafficking. 
You may also have the opportunity to go into buildings and residences when law enforcement may not. 
You may notice environmental conditions that point toward human trafficking. 
While walking through a house during or after an emergency, you may notice evidence of too many people living in a small space, multiple beds lining a single room, and other substandard living conditions. 
If you enter a home where children live and you discover indicators such as pornography in plain view or a large amount of audio and visual equipment, carefully observe the rest of the situation. 
When combined with other indicators, discoveries like these should raise suspicion. 
Watch for children who are talkative with you but fearful of the family. 
Many child victims of sex trafficking are taught from a young age that sex with adults is normal. 
They may not know that what is going on is wrong.
As a first responder you are in a unique position for noting and responding to indicators of human trafficking during health assessments. 
Some indicators you would notice during an assessment include signs of malnourishment or overall poor health, untreated injury or infection, signs of drug or alcohol addiction, and signs of physical abuse, such as unexplained injuries, multiple injuries in various Stages of healing, or signs of prolonged abuse. 
Even if they are clearly injured or unwell, individuals who have been victimized by human trafficking may resist or refuse your help. 
They may demonstrate fear of providing information, be unwilling or unable to give you basic information, such as their name or address, or they may provide unrealistic or inconsistent information.
Another sign of possible human trafficking is the presence of an individual who seems to be controlling the potential victim. 
This person may answer all questions directed toward the victim, keeping them from responding directly to you. 
Victims of any age may also exhibit fear of being touched, be afraid to undress for the exam, be afraid to speak about their injury or medical issue, or provide explanations for injuries that do not fit.
As a dispatcher you work to connect people in emergency with the help they need.
Be aware of and document suspicious calls that include elements such as complaints of noise or heavy foot traffic in and out of a house or hotel.
Many human trafficking calls may seem similar to drug complaints.
Calls regarding assault, domestic situations, verbal disputes, and theft, may also have ties to human trafficking.
Pay close attention to the location of the calls. 
Truck stops, strip clubs, cheap motels, and massage parlors, are often used for sex trafficking.
Nice work let's. 
Take a look at the indicators of human trafficking that you noticed in this scenario. 
Take a minute to review these indicators and any that you might have missed. 
Once all indicators have a check mark press the continue button. 
Keep in mind that each indicator alone may not necessarily mean a person is being trafficked. 
But given the big picture and the totality of the circumstances in this scenario, what do you think? would you suspect that this might be a human trafficking situation? your suspicions are sound. 
The indicators in this scenario certainly point toward the possibility of human trafficking activity.