PARIS, Ill. (WCIA) — Human trafficking is the fastest-growing criminal industry in the world. On Friday, Edgar County frontline workers and community members gathered at Paris High School to learn about the warning signs.
A national trainer spoke to the crowd about tactics of traffickers and how to save those in danger. Kansas Police Officer Doug Cochran organized the meeting with the help of the Care Coalition. He said trafficking is just as much of an issue locally as it is nationally.
“Illinois ranks ninth in the nation for human trafficking, above Texas, Florida and California,” Cochran said. “Chicago alone has between 16 and 25,000 women and girls trafficked every year, so it is a problem within the state of Illinois and surrounding states.”
For Cochran and other frontline workers, transparency is key.
“It brings awareness to the issue,” he said. “So many people don’t believe that that is an issue around here, and they couldn’t be any more wrong. I mean, we’ve had cases in surrounding counties. We’ve had cases in our own county.”
Kylla Lanier, a national trainer from Truckers Against Trafficking, talked to an audience filled with educators, first responders and medical staff about the red flags.
“This has been a really wonderful experience because of the unique crowd and audience. Normally I have law enforcement only. So having teachers, which I used to be one, as well as health care workers is really phenomenal,” she said.
Kylla Lanier said having informed frontline workers can make the difference between life and death.
“A lot of the vulnerabilities that traffickers are exploiting are first present in pre-adolescent and adolescent youth,” she said. “And so when they can maybe see those at-risk behaviors and intervene on an earlier side, maybe they’ll never become victims of trafficking.”
Officer Cochran said he is planning more prevention training classes throughout Edgar County for the general public and for police departments.
