Current Investigator Practices and Beliefs on Interviewing Trafficked Minors

Despite significant increases in attention during the past 2 decades to the problem of sex trafficking, especially of minors, little is known about how investigators identify, engage, and ultimately question suspected victims. Here we address this gap by surveying investigators in the United States about their interactions with and beliefs about minor trafficking victims. Local, state, and federal law enforcement investigators and related legal professionals (N = 148) completed an online questionnaire about their current practices and challenges they face when identifying and interviewing suspected minor victims of trafficking; their knowledge surrounding youth, sex trafficking, and interviewing; and factors believed to be important to the successful prosecution of traffickers. Common indicators of sex trafficking reported by respondents included the victim's background and behavior during an interview and physical corroboration. Frequent challenges included the minor's previous interactions with authorities and their relationship to the trafficker. Finally, victim disclosure and corroborating physical evidence were believed to be most important for successful prosecution. Results have policy and training implications regarding methods of improving identification and prosecution of traffickers.