It has been said that you should never bring a knife to a gunfight. For years, though, that is in essence exactly what law enforcement has been doing by trying to combat the increasingly technologically advanced methods used by human traffickers. The traffickers use social media to groom victims and then trick them into trusting them enough to run away. To prevent this or to find a missing child once they have left their homes takes a great deal of data reconnaissance and online profiling. Thankfully, San Diego County has unveiled its own high-tech tool aimed at taking down this growing problem within the San Diego County Administration Center, and in so doing brings a gun to the gunfight the predators have started.

The Scope of the Problem is Immense

Currently, there are 4,000 children missing from the San Diego area and 4,240,000 missing nationwide. The majority of these children, according to the Department of Justice make perfect targets for sex traffickers. San Diego County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar explained the problem as follows:

“Within 48 hours of being on the streets one-third of these children are lured or recruited into the underground world of prostitution and pornography.” 

A High Tech Tool to Combat Human Trafficking

The new high tech tool that is set to create a more advantageous situation for rescuers, officers and volunteer efforts includes a central point of communications for our own Saved in America in the form of a 37-foot-long mobile command trailer. Joseph Travers explained it as follows:

“We were doing multiple recoveries at the same time, so we needed one central point of communications and a central point to put all our electronic gear, so we could accomplish what we need to accomplish.” 

Not only will the mobile command provide a central point for all rescue efforts, but it will provide a safe place for parents who are sometimes on the scene during the rescue process and the victims after the rescue. Since our beginning in 2014, our organization at Saved in America has rescued more than 200 victims from sex trafficking. 

Bottom Line: It Takes a High Tech Approach

The modern problem of human trafficking is closely tied to technology. Therefore, it takes a unique and highly technical approach to combat the ever-growing industry. This mobile command unit is one such answer as it properly equips rescuers with the electronic advantages and the tech they need to find and rescue human trafficking victims and return them to their families or guardians.