Our Special Victims Unit investigators receive specialized training on how to work with victims of human trafficking. The Interstate Criminal Enforcement Team deputies are continuously on the lookout for suspected human traffickers using the interstates to transport victims from place to place. Fortunately, we have not had any reported cases recently, however this does not mean we do not communicate with our federal and state law enforcement partners about trends in this area so we remain current on this information. If anyone has information or believes they know someone who is involved in human trafficking or other forced labor, please contact the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office, 704-878-3180.”

According to the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments “Human trafficking is modern slavery. It involves exploiting a person through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of forced labor, commercial sex, or both. Victims of human trafficking include men, women, boys, girls, and transgender individuals lured by the promise of a better life in the United States and adults and children who were born and raised in the United States. The International Labor Organization estimated, in 2012, that children represented 26 percent (or 5.5 million) of the 20.9 million victims worldwide.1 Both U.S. citizen and foreign national children are trafficked for sex and labor in the United States.2 In fact, many child victims of human trafficking are students in the American school system. School administrators and staff need to be aware that cases of child trafficking are being reported in communities throughout the nation. No community — urban, rural, or suburban — school, socioeconomic group, or student demographic is immune.”