Part II of America Trends with Amanda Fuller looks further into the work Saved in America is doing as they fight back against the ever-growing human trafficking industry. The conversation begins with Amanda talking about how kidnapping used to look, the milk carton kids who were taken from their families, often off the streets or in stores, never to be seen again. Today, human trafficking is the big bad wolf that individual predators used to be, and it doesn’t look the same. Instead of a child being taken from their loved ones, from their home, from the sidewalk walking home, they are choosing to run away thanks to the grooming efforts of the human trafficking predators. 

Kids Typically Aren’t Taken

Unlike in years past, this criminal underbelly of human trafficking rings is ultra-organized and is backed by gangs and cartels instead of an individual. They use grooming to convince a child to leave their home or their safe house and venture out on the streets. Once they are away from the protection they have, the human trafficking ring is free to entrap them in a never-ending nightmare. These kids often don’t recognize the evils that await them until they have been so brainwashed and abused that they don’t know how to get help or getaway. Therefore, kids are not victimized in the same way, it's convincing a child to kidnap themselves virtually. It is a different kind of crime than in years past and is much harder to fight back against on a law enforcement front.

The Difference in Grooming and Kidnapping

If a child is yanked off the streets, then this incident results in immediate and intense action by law enforcement. However, when a child leaves on their own, seemingly without being forced, then police look at the case differently. They have to allocate resources towards what they assume is a child running away of their own volition is different from the way a case is handled when a child is forcefully taken. However, these cases, even though kids will often leave their homes on their own, still deserve attention and manpower to solve and return these kids to their homes and families. Thankfully, Saved in America is working to track down and find these kids and then work with local police officials to organize a rescue. SIA also ensures they are taken to a safe place where they can have counseling afterward to recover from their ordeal recognize grooming for the crime it is and learn to fight back.