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Human Trafficking In Michigan

 * Human trafficking is not a new subject. It has been around for ages.  What may come as a surprise is the extent at which it exists within the United States.  It ranges from bringing in foreigners with false pretenses and enslaving them to kidnapping and forced prostitution.  Human Trafficking is a growing industry in the United States, according to a report written by James O. Finckenauer and Jennifer Schrock of the International Center National Institute of Justice .  This crime has occurred in Michigan and as a result laws were created to provide proper litigation of related cases; large universities have also taken interest in combating this particular crime and bring aid to the victims.

Law

 * Michigan eventually created official laws specific towards human trafficking. "However, an official ban on human trafficking in Michigan didn't come until 2006, when Governor Jennifer Granholm signed House Bill 5747." This House Bill was "Introduced by Rep. Phil Pavlov(R) on February 23, 2006". These Michigan statutes are sections 750.462a to 750.462i. Effective April 1st, 2011, an additional statue, 750.462j, which set grounds for further prosecution in human trafficking cases, as described by a CBS Detroit news article.


 * The Michigan penal code can be viewed by going to the legislature.mi.gov website via the following link.

Universities

 * There are several organizations and services providing research of human trafficking in the US. Other groups will also provide assistance for victims and for those who wish to contribute or aid in the prevention of human trafficking. Two major universities in Michigan are providers of such research and organizations: University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

Michigan State University

 * Jane White, the Associate Director of the National Center for Community Policing at the School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, created the Michigan "Human Trafficking Task Force". There Mission statement is: "'The Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force exists to facilitate a collaborative effort to prevent trafficking of persons within the State of Michigan, to pursue prosecution of perpetrators, and to protect and rehabilitate trafficking victims.'"
 * This Task Force provides contact information of service providers and other resources beneficial to victims and to those seeking a way to help victims.

University of Michigan

 * The University of Michigan provides the "Human Trafficking Clinical Program" . It consists of two sections, the Human Trafficking Clinic (HTC), and the Human Trafficking Law Project (HTLP).  "The HTC is the first legal clinic solely dedicated to human trafficking in the United States." The HTLP is a database being constructed of all Human Trafficking litigation in the United States.

Incidences

 * Several Stories and cases can be found via the University of Michigan website. An article called "The Face of Modern-Day Slaver", being taken on by the HTC, can be read in the schools Law Quadranlge portion of the University of Michigan Law School website.  The real life story entails a young girl who was brought from her home in Africa to New Jersey with the promise of education.  Instead, she was forced into working in a salon braiding hair.  All of her wages were given to the family that held her captive.  In 2007 she was finally freed by police intervention.
 * Cases of truck stops being used in prostitution rings are also in the database of U of M’s HTLP.