The legislation looks to ban hourly rates at vacation properties and increase penalties for soliciting prostitution.
Courtesy of USF
By Aubrey Carr
A proposed bill aimed at fighting human trafficking could establish USF St. Petersburg’s Trafficking in Persons (TiP) Risk to Resilience Lab as Florida’s Statewide Data Repository for Anonymous Human Trafficking Data.
In addition to the creation of the Data Repository, House Bill 1439 looks to ban hourly rates at vacation properties, increase penalties for those soliciting prostitution and allow sex trafficking victims to expunge criminal records regarding solicitation.
The legislation was proposed by State Representative Jackie Toledo, R-Tampa, on Jan. 10, one day before the start of Florida’s 2022 Legislative Session.
“I said it last year, and I will say it again, we want to make sure the message is loud and clear that Florida is closed to human trafficking,” Toledo said in a press release. “House Bill 1439 will give our law enforcement partners the necessary tools not only to deter and prevent this horrendous crime but also to have the data they need to best address trafficking in their part of the state.”
The proposed bill would not only assist law enforcement, but provide researchers, like those behind the TiP Lab, with essential information for the fight against human trafficking.
“A key request from those on the front lines combatting human trafficking in Florida is for good, clean human trafficking data. Currently, the lack of good data means we are combatting human trafficking in the dark with no reliable information on where and how to address the problem,” TiP Lab director Joan Reid said.
“Accurate, complete data from a statewide data repository will provide crime trend identification, support law enforcement development of more specific interdiction strategies, close knowledge gaps and better position providers to address all survivor needs,” she said.
The TiP Lab, which celebrated its grand opening in September of 2021, brings together specialists from USF’s three campuses and provides the Tampa Bay area with a needed headquarter for human trafficking research.
According to the Florida Department of Children and Families’ Annual Human Trafficking Report, 1,901 human trafficking reports were made in the state during the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The drastic numbers sparked researchers to refer to the area as a “hotbed” for sex trafficking.
“Human trafficking continues to burgeon, and throughout the world, it has become the second most profitable form of organized crime. An effective database is critical in understanding and dissecting the root causes to mitigate this horrific crime,” Tampa Police Department’s Assistant Chief Lee Bercaw said.
“Having the enhanced ability to analyze human trafficking data and those crimes intersecting with human trafficking will bring our mitigation efforts to the next level. Housing this database in our backyard at USF’s TiP Lab will significantly improve our mitigation efforts and our ability to work proactively with our researchers, local, state, federal and private partners,” he said.
If approved, Toledo’s bill would shine a statewide spotlight on the TiP Lab, providing the research center a valuable connection to Florida’s trafficking condemnation efforts.
“The systematic collection and unification of data from various agencies are integral to facilitating the effective application of law enforcement resources to disrupt the human trafficking enterprise. We are grateful to Rep. Toledo for sponsoring this bill and her dedication to disrupting human trafficking in the state of Florida,” Shelly Wagers, a criminology professor at USF St. Petersburg and former Largo police officer, said.
