Criminal Enforcement Partners

Local and state criminal trafficking investigations may include the local police department, sheriff or state police department, specialized state police investigators, local district attorney’s office, and the state attorney general’s office. Civil local and state investigations may consist of a much broader range of agencies, from the local city attorney’s office to agencies that investigate wage and labor violations, address health violations, conduct building and safety inspections, provide child protective services, and protect older individuals and people with disabilities. Federal criminal trafficking investigations usually include the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security’s HSI (one or both), the local USAO, and sometimes the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit in the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. Federal civil trafficking investigations may include the Department of Labor, EEOC, and other agencies. For all local, state, and federal cases, civil agencies may be brought into a criminal investigation to assist; moreover, civil agencies may refer a case to criminal agencies for further criminal investigation. Successful investigations will include one or more social service providers that offer critical support to the victim. Some victims will be represented by a civil attorney, immigration attorney (if they are foreign nationals), or both.

Task forces need to think creatively about other investigative partners. For example, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service can be a partner when passport or visa fraud is involved; the Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations in the Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Labor can be a partner in cases involving labor racketeering and labor recruitment fraud (guest worker cases); the IRS can be a valuable partner when financial crimes are implicated; and the Social Security Administration can be a partner if social security cards are fraudulently procured or if lawfully assigned numbers are misused. For additional information, see Chapter 3.1 Civil Enforcement Partners.

For additional information and tools, visit the Resource page for Section 3.1 Task Force Membership & Management.