DECEMBER 20238GOVERNMENT CIO OUTLOOKIN MYOPINIONTADDRESSING HUMAN TRAFFICKING EDUCATION FOR CALIFORNIA FIREFIGHTERShe 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 honor-bound 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 Heather Marques, Division Chief, Alameda County Fire DepartmentBy
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