Ft Worth Times

Texas' Attorney General’s Office has released a strategic plan to combat human trafficking that includes collaboration with non-profits, faith-based organizations, and other advocacy groups across Texas including the Tarrant County 5-Stones Task Force.

The task force began forming in 2014 amid conversations between Fort Worth police and community members on how to stop domestic minor sex trafficking. It became a formal arm of the police department in 2016, Felicia Grantham, the civilian human trafficking coordinator with the Fort Worth Police Department, said in an e-mail response to the Fort Worth Times.

Its five primary concentrations are awareness, training, restoration, advocacy, and fighting demand. Members of the public interested in furthering their goals are welcome to take part.

“Through the lens of these areas, we work to bring together agencies, churches, political representatives, law enforcement, and individuals to develop creative ways of combating human trafficking,” Grantham said.

The task force has continued that collaboration through the COVID-19 pandemic, hosting trainings and its monthly meetings in a virtual format. The June meeting drew 56 participants, and 15 people also viewed it after the fact.

Early this year Clear Channel donated nine billboards to support the group’s “Trafficking Starts Here” campaign, which highlighted how unsuspecting victims can be lured through social media.

Partnering in the attorney general’s Human Trafficking Prevention Coordinating Council will help Tarrant County’s task force with its mission, Grantham said.

“When people are siloed in their efforts, it is easy to duplicate services and even have gaps in service. The attorney general [Ken Paxton] has a strong strategic plan and we support the goals they detail within it,” Grantham said. “No one person can overcome trafficking, but together as a community we have a chance of reducing the number of victims and eliminating perpetrators.”

The attorney general’s plan details ongoing work with many groups, including the North Texas Academic Collaborative on Trafficking (NTACT), which researches ways to end human trafficking across the state and worldwide. Other interdisciplinary work is with the Buffett-McCain Institute Initiative to Combat Modern Slavery, founded to address human trafficking in the agricultural sector.

The new council is working to develop more partnerships.

“From businesses to service providers to religious organizations, the number of non-governmental organizations [NGOs] dedicated to assisting Texas in the fight against trafficking is expanding,” the plan states.

The 5 Stones Task Force has long sought to address the difficulties posed by traffickers and their victims crossing state and international borders.

“This is where we often will partner with law enforcement in other jurisdictions or coordinate with county or federal partners who oversee larger regions,” Grantham said.

In addition to law enforcement, Grantham stressed public awareness plays a crucial role in its efforts.

“Whether it’s volunteering for an anti-trafficking organization or simply reporting something that seems suspicious, everyone has a role to play,” Grantham said.