Addressing Human Trafficking Education for California Firefighters

The American Fire Service occupies real estate at a critical juncture of public health, public security, and public trust. All available data indicates California has a significant human trafficking problem; while human trafficking poses as a dynamic transient crime, often serving as an intersectional criminal tactic, California’s law enforcement and emergency response systems and resources are not being leveraged to match the threat. The Alameda County Fire Department’s role as community-based first responders provides them unique access to environments that would be otherwise inaccessible to law enforcement. Fire/EMS personnel enjoy a level of trust law enforcement does not and has not been fully integrated into California’s anti-trafficking response. If not properly trained to identify human trafficking-related suspicious behavior, victims or perpetrators may go unidentified.

Traffickers rely upon anonymity, seeking out vulnerable populations, commonly using techniques of physical and psychological abuse – utilizing fear and intimidation to exert control over their victims. Some traffickers keep their victims under lock and key, while others use less obvious methods, specifically debt bondage – asserting erroneous financial obligations wherein the victim feels honorbound to satisfy the dubious debt. Trafficking has been described as akin to slavery and persists in all areas of the world, with a significant presence in California. Tied with illegal arms sales, human trafficking is commonly seen as the second largest global criminal industry and as the fastest growing criminal activity in the 21st century. The International Labour Organization estimates human trafficking generates approximately $150 billion a year globally.

The County of Alameda is geographically and economically at an epicenter of trade, tourism and commerce. With ports of entry by land, sea, and air, Alameda is targeted by traffickers to move, shelter, and exploit people covertly. As the most populous state in the nation, California also has a significant number of vulnerable populations such as homeless, runaways, and people suffering from mental illness. The ACFD is exceptionally positioned to interact with and support many of these vulnerable populations. As our knowledge and awareness of human trafficking expand, policymakers must seek new and creative methods of utilizing our resources to identify potential victims of trafficking, dismantle trafficking networks, and find innovative ways to separate victims from their exploitation. Expanding and refining our identification and reporting protocols for emergency medical and fire personnel would decrease the shadow traffickers required to operate.

The public commonly sees fire and EMS as “helpers” and not “incarcerators.” This social equity allows them interpersonal contact and information disclosure police and federal agencies rarely have access to. As mandated reporters, firefighters are obliged to report the abuse/neglect of children to Child Protective Services or of adults to Adult Protective Services, as well as report suspected domestic violence to law enforcement. Suspected human trafficking as a category has not been included. Keeping in line with their obligation to protect vulnerable populations, first responders should be knowledgeable on ancillary predatory behavior they are likely to encounter, including commercial sexual exploitation and forced/exploited labor trafficking. Throughout this literature and research review, studies indicate victims of trafficking have accessed healthcare provider care 88% of the time while being trafficked. In a 2018 study, less than half of EMS providers have had basic anti-trafficking training.

In July 2024, Assembly Bill 2130 requires the State EMS Agency to mandate human trafficking education. All newly licensed EMTs and Paramedics must complete at least 20 minutes of training on issues related to human trafficking. To comply with this requirement and set forth a more effective reporting mechanism, the Alameda County EMSA has adopted the Human Trafficking Liaison Officer (HTLO) model. This replicates the federal standard for reporting suspicious activities like terrorism. This allows firefighters and field medical providers a direct information portal, as they report and Unusual Occurrence to the EMSA representative, and EMSA relays the information to the regional Fusion Center in the form of a Suspicious Activity Report. Formal guidance has been laid out in the 2024 County EMS Protocols.

SUSPECTED HUMAN TRAFFICKING: Human trafficking involves labor or services, by means of force, fraud or coercion for the purposes of subjection to commercial sex acts or other involuntary servitude. If the person is under 18 years of age, no force, fraud or coercion is required.

Warning signs of human trafficking include:

►Individuals who are isolated/segregated from contact with responders, are physically or emotionally bullied by others, or don’t have control of their own ID/documents.

►Manifest signs of physical neglect – malnourished, unreasonable workplace injuries

►Live or work in locations with unsuitable living conditions or unreasonable safety working environments.

►Incidents where responders are approached and asked for protection/asylum from other individuals at a scene Reporting requirements:

►EMS personnel should send an Unusual Occurrence report to Alameda County EMS for any suspected human trafficking cases. The information provided will be relayed directly to the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center for Human Trafficking.

►For suspected human trafficking, offer the patient the 24/7 Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline number 888-373- 7888 if doing so does not compromise patient safety.

The Department of Homeland Security recognizes public safety responders as the front-line “sensors” for all activity occurring in the public sphere. By removing obstacles to reporting and creating an information portal from the street to the Regional Intelligence Centers, California firefighters are empowered to affect one of the greatest threats we face in this state.