The Savannah-Chatham police department is hosting a training course in identifying and prosecuting human sex trafficking. The course is sponsored by the state.
Classes are ongoing throughout the week, and each Savannah-Chatham police officer is required to attend, said department spokeswoman Michelle Gavin.
The course focuses on child sex trafficking. The training provides information about state-wide resources available to assist law enforcement officers in their investigations, Gavin said..
The training is being led by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Camila Wright, an assistant state attorney general who prosecutes sex-trafficking cases.
“At the end of this training, each officer should be more equipped to spot hidden trafficking, work with cooperating and non-cooperating victims, investigate cases and bring traffickers to justice,” Wright said in a news release.
Every year more than 300,000 children are brought into sex trafficking across the globe, some by people they know and others by people they have just met, but trust, Gavin said. It happens across the United States, including in Chatham County.
“In order to help protect our children we must make people and officers aware of what is going on,” said Savannah-Chatham Police Sgt. Tiffany Manuel, who heads the department’s Special Victims Unit. “We must educate officers about what to look for and what to do when we see the signs. The more people who are aware of what is going on the more we can help get these children out of danger and prevent other children from becoming victims.”
Law enforcement officers from all Chatham County were invited to attend, along with the Chatham County District Attorney’s Office, Rape Crisis Center, Department of Family and Children Services and the Child Advocacy Center.