FLORIDA — Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a package of bills Tuesday aimed at combating human trafficking in Florida.
In all, the bills (SB 7064, SB 1690 and HB 1465) aim to:
- Crack down on adult entertainment establishments that profit from human trafficking and hotels in violation of Florida’s current human trafficking laws
- Strengthen penalties against those businesses and human traffickers
- Raise the standard of care in foster homes and safe homes
- Provide damages and restitution to victims of human trafficking
- Requires youth treatment centers to post signs warning children about the dangers of human trafficking and ways to report human trafficking
SB 7064 would also establish a four-hour training for law enforcement on human trafficking. It would also require the University of South Florida to house and operate a statewide data repository for anonymous human trafficking data and to evaluate trends and the effectiveness of state initiatives in combating human trafficking.
In February, more than 200 people were arrested in a large human trafficking operation sting in Polk County.
According to Polk Sheriff Grady Judd, the seven-day “Operation Traffic Stop” resulted in the arrests of 213 people suspected of trafficking, prostitution and solicitation. Detectives charged those arrested with a total of 68 felonies and 308 misdemeanors.
During this investigation, 24 possible human trafficking victims were identified of the 111 prostitutes who were arrested. Authorities said 14 of the arrested are suspected of being in the country illegally (13 from Cuba and one from Mexico), and six of the 14 were identified as victims of human trafficking.
January is also recognized as National Human Trafficking Month.
