Sheriff Battling Human Trafficking Through Education Campaign

CHARLOTTE, NC — Human trafficking is a growing problem in the Charlotte metro region and is a trend the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office is trying to curb through a new community education program.

MCSO has launched a new series of community information sessions focused on human trafficking to improve community awareness and empower residents to spot the signs.

The problem is growing in the Charlotte metro region, mainly due to interstate travel as well as high profile events, like the NBA All-Star game or the upcoming Republican National Convention in August, MCSO Officer Sherman Pride told Patch.

“Any big event is going to draw that kind of activity” to Charlotte, which has the highest rate of human trafficking in the state, Pride said.

The statistics of human trafficking, defined in North Carolina as “coercion, deception, involuntary servitude, minor status, and sexual servitude,” are particularly grim in our state. North Carolina is No. 8 in the nation for reported cases, according to state officials.

In 2019, there were 132 cases of human trafficking in North Carolina reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Of those cases, the vast majority were cases of sex trafficking of females, followed by labor trafficking.

Wednesday night, MCSO held an information session at the McCrorey YMCA on Beatties Ford Road, which brought out about 40 people, Pride said.

“People don’t know what to look for,” Pride said. One of the biggest tells of a trafficking situation is something that looks out of order, like a young person who looks distressed with an older adult in a public place, like a mall. Also, young girls are being branded with tattoos of messages such as “Daddy” or money signs, he said.

Sheriff Garry McFadden said social media is often the easiest way for sex traffickers to connect with young victims, WCNC reported.

“What we want to do is actually talk to the young men and women that are going to be approached, understand the dangers, understand what happens on the internet, how you can meet people out in the public and what you can do on these apps,” McFadden said.

Here’s a list of the upcoming MCSO human trafficking information sessions:

• Wednesday, Feb. 5 — 11:15 a.m. McCrorey YMCA, 3801 Beatties Ford Road, Charlotte
• Wednesday, March 11 — 6:30 p.m., Cornelius Library, 21105 Catawba Avenue, Cornelius

For more information about these sessions, or to request one, contact MCSO Community Engagement at 980-314-5314.