(Alan Wooten, The Center Square) With the change in leadership for the organization that handles the national hotline not showing direction sought, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is on board with nearly every other attorney general in the country requesting the help of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The Polaris Project is the operator of the National Human Trafficking Hotline, and Kennedy is the Trump administration’s leader of as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Applications for operating the hotline are being accepted by Kennedy’s department. North Carolina, according to statistics from the hotline, is among the top 10 states for the rate of human trafficking cases.
Jackson, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, put his signature with 40 others asking Kennedy to “require the next operator of the National Human Trafficking Hotline to better cooperate with local law enforcement,” the prosecutor’s release says.
“The Human Trafficking Hotline only works if law enforcement can respond to potential crimes as quickly as possible,” Jackson said. “Any delay in these tips getting to the right place puts lives at risk. Every second counts in these situations – that’s why we’re asking the federal government to make sure the next operator of this hotline communicates better with law enforcement.”
For six years, Catherine Chen was CEO at Polaris. Among the criticisms she drew were an approach centered on victims.
For example, U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody was attorney general in Florida last spring when according to published reports she offered, “Unfortunately, the woke Stanford and Columbia-educated CEO of Polaris has pushed a radical agenda to delay the dissemination of vital information to local law enforcement in favor of what she calls a ‘victim centered approach.’”
Chen stepped down in December, and Megan Lundstrom succeeded her in February. An opening graph of the announcement from Polaris said her work at The Avery Center “focused on survivor-driven, evidence-based program development with a priority on economic empowerment.”
Jackson says millions of dollars from Congress since 2007 have supported the 501(c)(3) agency. “However,” his release says, “the attorneys general recently learned that Polaris was failing to forward third-party tips about adult victims to state law enforcement except in limited circumstances. Additionally, the Hotline has taken up to several months to share those tips with the state. If state and local law enforcement don’t receive these tips in a timely manner, they can’t act to help people.”
Since 2007, North Carolina has been linked to 10,393 signals to the national hotline. This means calls, online reporting, web chats, emails and SMS reports. SMS is an acronym for short message service.
In the most recent year (2023) with statistics available, 143 of the 684 signals were from victims or survivors of human trafficking. Last fall’s meeting of the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission included warnings that traffickers were moving into the Carolinas where people hit hard by Hurricane Helene were left vulnerable with a loss of basic needs.
Two significant laws related to human trafficking have been passed in the last 15 years by the General Assembly. In 2013, the Safe Harbor Law gave protection to minors forced into commercial sex from being charged with crimes. On Dec. 1, state law for “any person who solicits another for the purpose of prostitution” changed from Class 1 misdemeanor to Class I felony.
The letter included signatures of attorneys general in 39 states and one U.S. territory (American Samoa). It was led by Attorneys General Lynn Fitch of Mississippi, Kathy Jennings of Delaware, Liz Murrill of Louisiana and Aaron Ford of Nevada.
The only states not represented were Arizona, Connecticut, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, Texas and Washington. The District of Columbia attorney general also did not sign.
