In the fall of 2014, our team went to Phoenix to present to the Arizona Human Trafficking Council. We shared a new tool we had just developed called Spotlight, that leverages machine learning algorithms and insight from officers in the field, and were prepared to train Arizona officers as some of the first users in the country.
This week, I had the opportunity to join the Council once again and provide updates on the incredible progress we’ve seen with Spotlight since our first meeting. Today, Spotlight is used across the state of Arizona and in 47 other states, plus the District of Columbia. It is being used by more than 2,000 officers nationwide and has helped identify over 300 victims of trafficking.
Fighting child sex trafficking across sectors
Beyond sharing our own updates yesterday, it was inspiring to hear the progress that Arizona has made in training a variety of groups across the state on child sex trafficking, enhancing victim services, training patrol officers to look for at risk kids during traffic stops and more.
We know that trafficking and child exploitation is not an issue that can be solved by one group or one part of society. It takes cross-sector teams, like the Arizona Human Trafficking Council, working in partnership with their communities to create real change.
There is much more work to be done – but kudos to this group and to others like them around the country, who look beyond their one task force and pull together to get real work done!
