The McLean County Sheriff's Office plans to get specialized training to investigate human trafficking cases.
It's part of a regional task force pilot project with Illinois State Police and Decatur Police.
McLean County Sheriff Matt Lane said the department will assign one detective, as needed, to investigate trafficking cases. State Police would provide training and equipment and that officer will have statewide jurisdiction.
“What I want to do is make sure that this sheriff’s office is prepared and this community is prepared to deal with these situations and deal with them swiftly,” Lane said in an interview on WGLT’s Sound Ideas.
Lane said it's not clear how widespread human trafficking is in Central Illinois.
“There are a lot of layers to it, I think, and it’s difficult to nail down the responsible parties, and it’s that way by design,” Lane said. “That’s why you need the specialized training and equipment.”
Data from the Peoria-based Center for Prevention of Abuse show there have been more than 300 trafficking victims in the 46 counties that comprise the U.S. Attorney’s Central District of Illinois since 2018, and a vast majority were in McLean County and surrounding counties.
Two sex trafficking cases in McLean County have been made public. One case involved a sting in the Bloomington area in which six people were arrested in January. The Normal Police Department and Illinois State Police reported a human trafficking victim at a massage spa in April.
Lane said the task force is intended to be a pilot project for Central Illinois that could be adopted statewide.
“If it proves to be successful, I think you will see it get larger and branch out a little more with more agencies,” Lane said.
Lane said he has heard from other law enforcement agencies in the state and country that specialized units like this lead to more tips about illicit operations.
“That it’s a specialized unit that knows how to handle these things, I think makes a difference to these people,” Lane said.
The City of Bloomington recently had staff training on how to detect and report human trafficking. The city also adopted new regulations for massage businesses, amid concerns that unlicensed operators could be engaged in sex trafficking.
Lane said anyone who has suspicions about potential trafficking should report it to their local police department.
