MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Human trafficking is a big problem in Florida, partly because it’s so easy to get in and out of the state through the sea ports and the airports, and it’s so close to the Caribbean.
The folks at Florida, Power & Light wanted to help, so a few months ago they went to Miami-Dade County Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins.
She connected them with officials at the Miami-Dade Police headquarters so they could create a private-public partnership.
FPL believes they can be of assistance because their trucks are out on the streets every day.
“We are in the backyards, working on lines, sometimes we’re restoring power, sometimes we’re upgrading a line, sometimes we’re going into the home and checking on a meter,” said Irene White, FPL’s senior director of External Affairs.
FPL is partnering with the Miami-Dade Police Department to launch a training program to educate line workers on how to spot human trafficking.
“Some of those red flags include: Is there a lot of traffic in and out of the home that is not usual to what they would see in their communities? Are there mattresses or bedding in a business that doesn’t need to have these items in it? Signs of a person perhaps not having access to their basic needs or signs of physical abuse,” said Caridad Mas-Bachelor, of the Miami-Dade Police Department Human Trafficking Division.
A total of 350 employees will participate in the training program to start with.
There’s also an online component that thousands of workers will take part in.
“It takes one person to make an impact in eradicating human trafficking by identifying it and reporting it,” Mas-Bachelor said.
“To those criminals who are engaging in human trafficking in our community, we are coming for you,” Cohen Higgins added.
Florida ranks third in the nation for the most number of calls to the national human trafficking hotline, behind Texas and California.