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“Trafficking can also be smuggling,” he said. “But in trafficking, people are moved from location to location. It’s like drug trafficking and moving crews around to confuse law enforcement.”
Identifying the organization is key to stopping the trafficking.
What is human trafficking?
Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi answered the question recently when he spoke to the Church Women United organization.
“It’s modern day slavery,” the chief said in answering the question.
“Women, children and men are forced into it every day,” he said.
Akagi told the group human trafficking is not part of his expertise, but researching the subject “brought me back to some situations.” He was talking about situations involving drug smuggling -- a topic the chief is familiar with from his 25 years as a Drug Enforcement Administration agent.
“It’s not complicated,” the chief said. “It involves deception, fraud, coercion and taking advantage of people.”
Victims, he said, are found in illegitimate and legitimate labor areas.
The act of recruiting people for jobs is “just a sales pitch,” Akagi said. The trafficker uses threats to keep the victims in line.
He said the victims also have little or no social safety net. They often have limited language skills, sometimes are illegal residents, and can also be displaced because of a natural disaster.
“Does it hurt the community, the country? Yes, but it really hurts that person,” the chief said.
“They are largely silent, they have no voice, no hope, that’s the impact.”
Akagi said the difference in human trafficking and smuggling is that trafficking is exploitation based, while smuggling is transportation based.
“Trafficking can also be smuggling,” he said. “But in trafficking, people are moved from location to location. It’s like drug trafficking and moving crews around to confuse law enforcement.”
Identifying the organization is key to stopping the trafficking.
“We want to get the people who are doing it, but when we know who they are, who’s controlling it, when we get to that point, they move,” he said. “It keeps victims from getting too close, too familiar.”
Akagi said victims are basically “products for sale.”
“I have a problem talking about people being merchandise, but that’s what they are,” he said.
The chief said human trafficking is not something police officers see in Oak Ridge.
“The bad thing is we’ve never looked at it,” he said. “That doesn’t mean it’s not going on.”
The chief also talked about how to recognize victims of possible trafficking. The indicators, he said, are many. Some indicators to look for include:
• Is the victim in possession of identification, travel documents?
• Does the victim have freedom of movement?
• Do they have friends, family contacts?
• Are they allowed to socialize or attend religious services?
The chief said recognition will often come from a citizen, not law enforcement. Once a victim or group is identified, then the right agency can get involved. He said information is available on the Homeland Security website.
The chief, when asked, talked about the connection between prostitution and drugs, stating officers in Oak Ridge see “limited acts” of prostitution. However, he said that the two don’t necessarily go together, but locally it is more likely than not.
“The product is what is important, the drug or the person,” he said.
The chief also talked about drugs in schools, enforcement, juvenile justice issues and prevention. He said that although the Police Department has a school resource officer and is now taking dogs into schools, prevention, most of the time, comes down to family values. “You have to be raised right,” he said.
“I am a product of a mother who beat me daily,” he said of the disciplinary actions he received. “I’ve never tried a drug or even smoked a cigarette. She would have killed me. I say that viciously, but she was a strict mother.”
Beverly Majors can be contacted at (865) 220-5514.
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