(NOTE: State Senator Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) represents the 1st Essex & Middlesex District, which includes Wilmington.)
BOSTON, MA — The below is a recent post from State Senator Bruce Tarr’s blog, Tarr Talk:
Far too many people in Massachusetts are at risk of the viscous crime of human trafficking; some as recovering victims while others are still bound to submission by fear and dangerous perpetrators.
The Senate has recently taken a significant step to expand protections for survivors and provide tools for enhanced public awareness, mandatory law enforcement training and resources for court staff, health professionals and educators.
I have been working for some time with my colleague, Senator Mark Montigny of New Bedford, on this issue. In 2011 we collaborated to enact one of the strongest human trafficking laws in the nation. Human trafficking is tantamount to slavery; victims are mostly vulnerable women and children forced into the sex trade or involuntary labor services. They live in fear that they or their families will suffer serious penalties if they resist.
This important bill was sent to the House after I was able to add amendments to:
- Requires notification to local police upon release of a person convicted of trafficking people
- Requires the collected court assessments paid by offenders be made available to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to provide for those who can identify and respond to trafficking; law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, public defenders and others who work in the justice system.
The bill include enhanced data collection to better track human trafficking crimes and identify any patterns or characteristics useful to law enforcement for investigations, arrests and prosecutions.
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