Answer: law Enforcement Agencies
Explanation: Between 2000 and 2014, there were 600 federal convictions for human trafficking under TVPA 2000 (Fedorschak
et al., 2014). According to experts, traffickers believe there is low risk of sentencing and feel removed from the
possibility of arrest due to the trafficker’s ability to deter victims from testifying and law enforcement’s lack of
physical custody of victims (Dank et al., 2014). The TVPA reauthorization of 2007 suggested State Legislation included
the widely adopted Model State Anti-Trafficking Criminal Statute that serves as a prototype to assist states in policy
development (The Council of State Governments, 2007). Although TVPA provides federal parameters, prosecutors at
the state and local level often utilize more familiar charges against traffickers like pimping and pandering (Dank et al.,
2014).
The U.S. Department of State marks human trafficking cases as “the most labor and time-intensive matters
undertaken by the Department” due to complex factors surrounding working with victims (2004). Investigation
and prosecution of traffickers are at the discretion of stakeholders at the local level. Prosecutors use professional
discretion to decide if there is enough evidence to secure a conviction, otherwise they will opt for a lesser sentence
or a plea bargain (U.S. Department of State, 2004). One study found that on average, offenders who went to trial
received 61 months more prison time than if they had accepted a plea bargain (IOM & NRC, 2013). There are distinct
characteristics, like race and education, which affect the length of sentencing for sex traffickers. The aforementioned
study found that traffickers of color received 16 months longer than their white counterparts; traffickers with less
than a high school education received longer sentences than traffickers who had completed some college (IOM &
NRC, 2013)
