Offender Insights into Human Trafficking Decision-Making: Perceptions of Risks, Rewards, and Culpability

• In Event: Detecting and Measuring Human Trafficking Violations

Abstract

As part of a larger NIJ-supported study of individual offenders and the human trafficking organizations and networks they form, the motivations and decision-making processes of individuals were examined. This presentation reports on interviews with 46 convicted offenders in Federal Bureau of Prisons custody. Interview topics included initial decisions to engage in trafficking, definitions of the offense and admissions of culpability, perceived risk of apprehension, and strategies used to mitigate risk. Just one respondent fully admitted committing human trafficking, and only one asserted complete innocence. The rest acknowledged involvement, but most justified their acts by denying that victims were coerced or forced, and those whose victims were minors usually denied knowing their victims’ true ages (at least initially). Several admitted using coercion or deception to recruit and control victims, but very few admitted using force. Most traffickers reported having some level of fear of being caught by police but considered it an acceptable business risk, which could be reduced by minimizing the circle of confidants with direct access to them, learning about police methodologies, and coaching victims to detect undercover police and sting operations to avoid the “triggers” for arrest. Implications for policy and practice will be discussed.

Authors

• Michael Shively, Abt Associates Inc.

• Kamala Smith, Abt Associates Inc.

• Sarah Jalbert, Abt Associates Inc.