Monday, January 11, 2021

Attorney General Doug Peterson joined Governor Ricketts in recognizing National Human Trafficking Awareness Day and January as awareness month. Attorney General Peterson announced the release of new hotline posters, updated educational videos, and the Nebraska Human Trafficking Task Force 2020 Review.

The Nebraska Human Trafficking Task Force (NHTTF) 2020 Review discusses the significant momentum in combating trafficking over the past year. The Task Force increased by 46 agencies and saw an increase in prosecutions – more than a third of all prosecutions ever brought in the state court began in 2020. The NHTTF Team was able to train strategic groups, such as police recruits, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Nebraska paralegals, school staff, and Nebraska appellate judges.

The Nebraska Department of Transportation has begun updating human trafficking hotline posters in every rest area on I-80. The new posters have both the National Human Trafficking Hotline as well as a QR code that immediately takes a person to the Attorney General’s website, where short videos inform about the different signs of trafficking. The Attorney General’s Office also updated these videos, as well as specialized videos for law enforcement and educators. Adapted materials are also being created for key additional state agencies, including probation and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The poster printed in both English and Spanish, provides the National Human Trafficking Hotline number: 1-888-373- 7888, which is available to receive calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The hotline funnels calls to the in-state network established by the Nebraska Human Trafficking Task Force (NHTTF). Help is available in English, Spanish, and more than 200 additional languages through an on-call interpreter.

Due to COVID limits for the event, many NHTTF partners and friends joined via Zoom gallery (see attached list of attendees).

To learn more about NHTTF and human trafficking in Nebraska, visit https://ago.nebraska.gov/combating-human-trafficking.