By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostHuman trafficking is a growing problem, even in Missouri, even
in St. Joseph.St. Joseph Police Chief Chris Connally it is very difficult to
investigate and even more difficult to prosecute those involved in human
trafficking. And, according to Connally, too often the victims won’t cooperate.“It’s a complicated subject and it’s a complicated matter, because
when you’re dealing with victims of human trafficking a lot of times, they don’t
think of themselves as victims,” Connally tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline.Connally says various methods are used to strike at the root
of the problem, including informing landlords that criminal activity might be
taking place in their buildings.He says it’s hard to fight against it, because those involved
know how to elude police.“They can be very complicated now with the Internet and
crossing state lines,” Connally says, adding some who traffic prostitutes make
it difficult for police to investigate, let alone make any arrests. “They may
be in one city with something set up for a week here and another city the
following week or two weeks (later). Like I said, it’s a pretty complicated, in-depth
subject.”Connally serves on the Missouri Human Trafficking Task Force.“Over the last two years we’ve made a lot of strides in
Missouri. Some of it deals with awareness,” Connally says. “And trafficking isn’t
just sex trafficking, it’s also labor trafficking, whether that’s construction
labor in some cases or labor as far as selling drugs.”Serving with Connally on the statewide task force is St.
Joseph Sgt. Jason Strong. The task force works within the state Attorney General’s
office.The St. Joseph group, Break Every Chain, works with law
enforcement to come to the aid of the victims of human trafficking.

Human trafficking: a growing, difficult problem