Human traffickers operate in the shadows of society. 

In March 2021, police found a 15-year-old girl from Fort Worth during a prostitution sting in Houston. 

In March 2019 two Amarillo girls called 911 after a man who had promised them employment and a romantic relationship tried to coerce them into sex acts. 

In December 2019 police arrested two suspected traffickers and removed three victims during a vice operation in West Fort Worth. 

In every case, Fort Worth Police responded to help those who had been ensnared in human trafficking, but many more people still wait for help. 

Though it takes many forms, sex trafficking, where individuals perform sex acts due to force, fraud or coercion, and labor trafficking, where an individual is made to work or provide services, are the dominant offenses, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. 

The Fort Worth Police Department Human Trafficking Unit, which transitioned from the major case unit in 2019, identifies and removes people being used by human traffickers.

The unit is small — there’s a sergeant, two detectives, two officers and one civilian — but it tackles cases on a large scale by pooling resources with other departments like the Arlington and Dallas Police units and Homeland Security’s North Texas Trafficking Task Force.

“We work with [the] Tarrant County sheriff’s office quite a bit in supplementing each other's personnel because we’re both small units,” said Fort Worth Police Sergeant Bryan Johnson of the Human Trafficking Unit. 

Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes said collaborating with local partners provides more people who have been trafficked with the resources they need to be emotionally and physically healthy. 

“It’s about making them safe, making them well, and that’s where all of these partnerships are so vital,” said Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes. “It takes a village to make this happen.”

Together, the different units address human trafficking on the ground and raise awareness about the issue in communities across North Texas.

Trafficking in Texas

“Anybody and everybody can be trafficked,” said Dr. Mary Twis, an assistant professor of social work at TCU who focuses on domestic sex trafficking of minors.

But criminals often prey on people from marginalized communities who have few resources and no one to trust. 

People from racial and ethnic minorities, women and girls, transgender people, LGBTQ youth and children in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems are among the most vulnerable. 

“Ultimately, [trafficking] all comes down to who has power and who does not,” Twis said. 

Anyone who arranges for paid sex with a minor is considered a trafficker. But it’s difficult to quantify how widespread trafficking is.

Both estimates and confirmed cases of human trafficking should be "taken with a grain of salt," according to Twis.

“Estimate studies are very difficult to conduct and the methodologies are often quite flawed, so in terms of estimate research, we don’t always have a full picture of what’s going on,” said Twis. She added that confirmed cases are likely a vast undercount, as most people who are trafficked remain unidentified. 

In 2016, the University of Texas at Austin estimated more than 300,000 people are trafficked annually in Texas, including 79,000 pre-teens and young adults who are trafficked for sex and nearly 234,000 people who are trafficked for labor.

The study provided the first estimates for the scope and economic impact of human trafficking in Texas, grabbing attention from state media and law enforcement. 

However, only 681 Texas cases were reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in 2016.

In 2019, Texans reported the second-most trafficking cases to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1,080; 1,507 cases were reported in California. 

During the COVID-19 shutdown, trafficking cases rose across the nation as more young people spent time on the internet. 

Traffickers often make contact with young people through social media, gaming platforms or internet chat rooms, said Commander Kevin Turner from the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office Human Trafficking Unit.

The internet allows traffickers more anonymity and a broader audience for the “services” they offer to buyers.

“Just talking to parents and kids, they’re under the mindset that a white van’s going to pull up and he’s going to grab you and then you’re going to be trafficked,” said Investigator Chris Jarvis from the Tarrant County unit. “Well, that’s not the case... social media is the thing - that’s their white van.”

What’s more, many people don’t realize that trafficking can take place in their own neighborhoods.

“So many people just don’t realize that it’s happening here,” said Felicia Grantham, head of FWPD’s Tarrant County 5-Stones Task Force which raises awareness about human trafficking. “They think it’s this big dramatic event and always has to involve kidnapping. And it’s not like that."

Media portrayals of human trafficking often get it wrong, according to experts. 

Movie franchises like "Taken" and crime shows such as "Criminal Minds" and "Revenge" misrepresent trafficking as a violent international crime, but often, people are emotionally manipulated into relying on their traffickers. 

“We’re not talking about someone chained to a radiator in a basement,” said Noakes. “That does happen, but oftentimes the people who are being trafficked, they’re free to move about. It’s not wearing visible chains, it’s like chains of the mind and the heart. They’re brainwashed to be stuck in this cycle.”

Working together

Collaboration is key for the FWPD Human Trafficking Unit, which works with FWPD divisions such as Vice and Narcotics, as well as with departments and agencies across the metroplex.

In September, Fort Worth Police joined with several other agencies to arrest 115 men on the charge of attempting to purchase sex in “Operation Buyer Beware.” 

“Human trafficking doesn’t follow city boundaries,” said Fort Worth City Manager David Cooke.

The Tarrant County Human Trafficking Department also works alongside the Fort Worth unit. 

“When you combine the two units together and bring in the additional resources available to them, we’re able to force multiply and be able to better investigate and recover some of the victims that are out there,” said Turner.

Fort Worth Police also collaborate with the state attorney general’s office, as well as Homeland Security’s North Texas Trafficking Task Force. A Texas law enacted on Sept. 1 making the solicitation of prostitution a state jail felony also launched collaboration with the Arlington Police.

While tips are directed to a specific unit, law enforcement approaches cases as a collective effort. Departments collect and share video, interviews and other case information to address all aspects of a case, said Sandy Hennip, executive director of Unbound North Texas, a nonprofit that works with trafficking survivors.

“What’s cool about the September operation is there [were] 115 cases but they don’t say, 20 of those [were] the sheriff’s office, 10 [were] Fort Worth PD, it’s just a collective number,” she said. “I feel like that’s how I’ve seen them work together where it’s like, it’s a win for everybody. It’s not as important [as] ‘Is that your case or mine.’”

Jarvis said the Tarrant County unit educates smaller departments about what to look for in cases of human trafficking.

“We get called by several agencies and they’ve never dealt with a human trafficking issue before, so we go in and work side by side with them and show them what we do and how we’re doing it,” he said. “That just gets a couple more officers on board.”

Homeland Security and other federal agencies also connect Tarrant County with departments from Dallas County on many operations, as most teams are shorthanded.

Hennip said law enforcement and victim service agencies pair up for many training sessions to spread the same message within investigation and recovery operations.

But prosecuting traffickers is one thing. Providing support services is another.

“It’s the long-term restoration services that these victims need to get them back to a place where they feel empowered,” Turner said.

Fort Worth Police and other local units work with support organizations — Traffick 911, Unbound North Texas, RecoverHer and other victim service providers — to help survivors feel safe and start a new life.

Serving survivors

In Tarrant County, advocates from Traffick 911 and Unbound North Texas accompany law enforcement on investigations across the metroplex to help people break free from trafficking situations and find a new path.

Per Texas law, anyone removed from a trafficking situation is assigned an advocate from a victim service provider who can guide them through the process of healing from trauma and obtaining justice from law enforcement and other agencies.

Unbound serves both youth and adults, while Traffick 911 focuses on children and youth who have been exploited by sex traffickers. 

In the last two years, Unbound has served more than 200 people, said Hennip.

Traffick 911 director Lindsey Speed said at any point, the nonprofit could have 160-180 active cases. 

The two groups provide services such as access to child care, drug rehabilitation, counseling and other long-term, restorative services. 

Youths between 10 and 22 can also stay at the Underground, a 24-7 drop-in center operated by Unbound North Texas in Fort Worth. 

Created as a low-barrier entry point for survivors, the center gives advocates a safe place to take youths who have experienced trauma and allows Unbound to raise awareness about human trafficking in the community.

While the center is open to all youths in need, the Underground director Chris Cage said about two-thirds of those who stay at the Underground have been trafficked.

Cage said building trust is the first step in getting survivors to a safe place emotionally. 

“We address their felt needs first,” he said. “That could be having a shower, having something to eat, having a rest.”

The drop-in center is not certified as a residential facility, so stays are limited to 24 hours. However, people can visit more than once. Since the Underground opened in November 2020, the center has seen youths return an average of 2.7 times.

The goal of the staff is to help youths feel valued, find a place to stay that will meet their needs and connect with an advocate before their time is up, said Cage.

Members of the Fort Worth Police Human Trafficking Unit can also speak with survivors in the “soft interview room” of the Underground instead of the police station.

“This is kind of a bridge to the investigative piece,” said Stephanie Byrd, former executive director of Unbound North Texas and the director of strategic growth for Unbound Global. 

Even if survivors are unwilling or unable to assist law enforcement in investigating or prosecuting their traffickers, they can still receive services like child care and mental health assistance.

“We’re a trauma-informed, victim-centered approach,” said Turner. “It’s stabilizing our victim and getting them to a position or empowerment so that they can make the decision.”

Traffickers can still be prosecuted on charges such as aggravated promotion of prostitution, child pornography or online solicitation of a minor.

“The best thing we can do to help prevent victimization is getting these traffickers that we have identified arrested and getting them locked up so they can’t re-victimize,” said Johnson.

Raising awareness

Law enforcement stressed that awareness is the most important factor in the fight against human trafficking. 

The 5-Stones Taskforce, run by Grantham, aims to tackle public outreach. The grant-funded agency is made up of community volunteers and operates as an arm of the police.

Grantham said the goal of the 5-Stone Taskforce can be described in one word: collaboration.

“The task force, in many ways, has supported the Fort Worth PD, and the Fort Worth PD helps to educate the public, as far as what it’s like to work cases,” said Grantham.

Grantham works within the police department in addition to organizing 5-Stones. Her dual role is meant to strengthen the connection between the community and law enforcement, she said.

5-Stones holds a monthly meeting, open to the public, to educate the community on Fort Worth’s efforts to fight trafficking. Each meeting includes an update from law enforcement.

The task force also encourages collaboration between various victim service agencies that assist survivors.

“You may have one agency, let’s say, who provides six months of counseling for a human trafficking victim, and then you’ve got another agency that provides a year of counseling for human trafficking victims,” Grantham said. “Well, if we can get those two agencies together to collaborate and to refer to each other, then all of the sudden you have a year and a half of counseling.” 

Many nonprofits volunteer their services to 5-Stones, and churches, businesses and elected officials also contribute resources and help raise awareness. 

“The community is a huge piece to this as far as combatting human trafficking because, without the community support and understanding of what it is and what to look for, so many victims are going to be overlooked and not identified,” said Turner.

Johnson said the Fort Worth unit’s increased caseload shows growth in public awareness.

“When I took over in 2016, the number of cases that the unit received was maybe around 20 cases on average. Over the last five years, the number of actual cases has expanded to 53 cases per year,” said Johnson. “In the same years, we’ve had an average of 130 tips per year.”

The department said the increase in reported cases means more people know what trafficking looks like and what to do when they witness a case.

Beyond educating the public, outreach is also targeted toward those who are not aware that they are being trafficked themselves.

Johnson said that without help, some survivors return to their traffickers multiple times before they choose to receive services. 

The first step for trafficking victims is understanding they need help, Johnson said.

Next steps

Trafficking activity is expected to increase in Fort Worth as the population continues to grow.

Between 2010 and 2020, the population of Fort Worth rose by nearly 200,000 and is expected to surpass one million residents by 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The city is one of the fastest-growing large cities in the United States. 

Turner said law enforcement is prepared for the surge: “This is a situation that thankfully we are ahead of the game instead of behind,” he said.

Fort Worth Police said they hope to expand the Human Trafficking Unit. 

“We have to take an approach to being proactive and actually looking for these [people] because they don’t identify themselves as victims, they don’t say, ‘Hey, I’m being trafficked, I need help,’” said Johnson. “My ideal, in a couple of years, is to have a full-blown unit that is capable of actively looking for victims on a daily basis.”

Noakes said the unit needs more people given its caseload and the police department will “do everything we can” to make that possible. 

“You’re not going to find an initiative that is more important in the city of Fort Worth than dealing with human trafficking. And I would love to see the unit expand,” said Noakes. “The reality for me as chief though is I understand that to increase that unit I’ve got to decrease another.”

Johnson added that the budget for the unit is “pretty small.” 

The 2022 adopted budget for the Fort Worth Police Human Trafficking Unit is $831,300, up $460,000 from last year. 

It’s not enough to remove people from exploitation. Turner said law enforcement must also address the buyers driving the demand for trafficking services. 

Both law enforcement and victim service providers praised the recent state law making the first-time offense of soliciting prostitution a state jail felony.

“That really enhances our effectiveness as trying to drive down what really is the demand specifically for sex trafficking,” said Turner. 

The different agencies are working together on demand suppression initiatives in the metroplex.

“Since 2017 our collaboration here in Tarrant County and outside of Tarrant County has grown tremendously, and the overall movement toward combatting human trafficking here in Tarrant County is probably one of the strongest in the nation,” said Turner. 

Turner said many Fort Worth residents have likely seen people who have been trafficked or been trafficked themselves. For those who are not sure where to turn, law enforcement and victim service providers in Tarrant County can help them through the reporting and healing process. 

“It’s always comforting for some people to know that all they have to do is pick up a phone,” he said.  

These students contributed to this report: Izzy Acheson, Allie Brown, Maddy Buchanan, Elizabeth Burns, Chloe Cloud, Chaelie DeJohn, Ella Gibson, Kate Hellmund, Anya Ivory, Nicole Johnson, Iris Lopez. Mike Niezgodzki, Camilla Price, Rebecca Robinson, Edgar Saenz, Tristen Smith, Bailee Utter, Katherine Vaughn, Kyla Vogel

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