Florida is a 'hub' for human traffickers, attorney general says

9-24-2012 Florida:

Florida's status as a hub for human trafficking has state officials pushing a "zero-tolerance" policy toward criminals who exploit others for profit.

"It's important to me because this is a crime against humanity, it's truly modern-day slavery," State Attorney General Pam Bondi said in an interview.

The problem of people slave-driving others in the Sunshine State is so bad that Florida is regarded by human trafficking experts as one of the most active states in the country.

Citing a 2011 study by the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, Bondi said that Florida ranks third to only California and Texas. The study tracked the number of reports to the center's anti-trafficking hotline.

As a result, Bondi said legislators, investigators and prosecutors are working hard to better combat the problem. She pointed out changes to Florida's human trafficking laws that bring stronger penalties.

Among the changes: The state will now be able to designate convicted sex traffickers as registered sex offenders, Bondi said. Offenders will be subject to the same monitoring requirements used to track the whereabouts of other abusers and molesters.

"We want to continue to bring awareness to this horrific issue and we're proud that we've significantly strengthened our laws in the state," Bondi said.

Looking to bring more attention to the issue, Bondi is taking part in a human trafficking "summit" Monday in Tallahassee. Advocates and officials will discuss ways to combat the problem – and bring it into sharper focus.

"Because it's so ugly, I think a lot of people don't believe it's actually happening here," Bondi said.

In South Florida, officials are stressing that the problem is ...continued... by Brett Clarkson, Sun Sentinel