More than 110,000 truckers across Alabama are on the lookout during National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, hoping to drive out “one of the most egregious human rights violations in the USA and around the world.”

Alabama Trucking Association President and CEO Mark Colson said his organization and Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) helped generate bipartisan support in 2019 in the Alabama Legislature that led to a law which went into effect one year ago. All new commercial driver’s license holders are now required to be trained in how to spot and report human trafficking.

“We believe this was a tremendous sign of leadership that the trucking industry showed to require this training,” Colson said. “Essentially, truckers believe that this issue is so important that it belongs in our job description. Truckers are the eyes and ears on the roads, and it was simply the right thing to do.”

Thousands of Alabama truckers have received online training through TAT. Colson said his organization strongly encourages trucking companies to adopt the training into their regular safety and skills instructional sessions. He said trafficking training is most effective when companies adopt it as part of the corporate culture.

Truckers Against Trafficking is committed to rescuing people from the enslavement of human trafficking. (Truckers Against Trafficking)

Trying to make a dent in human trafficking is a team effort, Colson said. A cross-section of interested parties in Alabama is involved in an Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force established by the Legislature and in the “End It Alabama” campaign supported by the task force. Attorney General Steve Marshall’s Anti-Human Trafficking Alliance focuses on enforcement and recovery for victims.

Colson said TAT has generated more than 700 cases of human trafficking and identified nearly 1,300 victims after truckers made about 2,700 calls to the confidential 24/7 National Human Trafficking Hotline (1-888-3737-888).

“Many times, law enforcement officials are strapped for resources and spread very thin, but it’s been incredible to work with many Alabama law enforcement officials who are devoted to this issue,” Colson said.

The U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and subsequent reauthorizations of the federal law describe the crime as involving exploiting a person for labor, services or commercial sex. Sex trafficking is when a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud or coercion, or when the person is not yet 18. It is also a crime to recruit, harbor, transport, provision or obtain a person for labor, services or sex.

No Alabama city is listed among the Top 100 in the U.S. for cases established through or calls made to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Atlanta is No. 2 in cases and calls per capita and seventh nationally in number of cases and calls (Washington, D.C., leads in calls and cases). Other Southern cities ranking in the Top 10 are Houston; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Miami, Tampa and Orlando, Florida.

“Truckers are now one of the most motivated and well-organized industry groups working on this issue and their reports have led to countless arrests and recoveries of victims across the country,” said Nicole Moler, former director of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center. “TAT has been instrumental in creating a community of activists who are speaking out against human trafficking and directly impacting the lives of victims. I have no doubt that their work has and will continue to transform our ability to fight human trafficking and we are proud to partner with them in their efforts to eliminate human trafficking and modern-day slavery.”

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center said 286 contacts were made about possible trafficking in 2019 in Alabama. There were 82 human trafficking cases reported in the state last year: 60 sex trafficking, 10 labor, seven sex and labor and five unspecified cases. Females were victims in 67 of the 82 cases, while 17 cases involved a minor.