Human trafficking up 31% on Cape and Islands last year. What are police doing about it?

BARNSTABLE — Human trafficking does exist on Cape Cod and the Islands.

Fifty-eight sex trafficking cases were reported on the Cape and Islands from 2021 to 2023, with a 31% increase between 2022 and 2023, according to Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois.

New state grants fighting human trafficking and enhancing narcotics enforcement will go to eight local agencies, Galibois said Monday with state and local officials and organization heads by his side.

The $97,051 human trafficking grant was a first for the Cape and Islands, Galibois said.

“Twenty-two years ago people didn’t believe there was trafficking on Cape Cod,” said My Life My Choice Co-Executive Director Audrey Morrissey at the announcement. My Life My Choice, based in Boston, will receive $50,000 to expand services to adolescent survivors of human trafficking on Cape Cod, Morrissey, a survivor of human trafficking, said.

My Life My Choice, aimed at ending commercial sexual exploitation, pairs adult survivors with adolescent survivors of sex trafficking in a mentorship role.

A growing awareness of human trafficking on Cape Cod

A needs assessment survey of community agencies, conducted by Galibois' office, reported that 57% of individuals the agencies work with had engaged in human sex work, said Danielle Whitney, who directs community programs and public relations for Galibois.

Whitney and Vanessa Madge, chief of Galibois’ new child protection and human trafficking department, wrote the $97,051 grant offered by the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. The grant will pay for services on Cape Cod to support individuals caught up in human trafficking and help police investigate human trafficking.

Galibois said his office put together its own groups to deal with human trafficking issues after he heard a presentation by a human trafficking survivor in January 2023 at a Cape Cod PATH event. Cape Cod PATH is a community-founded task force that works to end human trafficking and its risk on Cape Cod, according to its website.

Galibois also gave credit to Orleans Police Chief Scott MacDonald for getting representatives from each Cape police department to work on the issue.

On Cape Cod: Cape Cod is 'ripe for sex, labor, and domestic trafficking,' says local survivor advocate

How will the human trafficking money be used?

The trafficking grant will, in part, provide $2,826 for care bags from Cape Cod PATH for trafficking victims at every police department containing “the essentials they will need to escape,” Whitney said.

The grant to My Life My Choice will help expand those services that are now provided in two towns off Cape for Cape residents, Morrissey said after the meeting. She also expressed her support for a sex survivors bill now being considered in the Legislature that will no longer allow arrests of adult human trafficking survivors and clear their criminal records.

“We want to be able to help another survivor get out of ‘the life,’” Morrissey said.

Lysetta Hurge-Putnam, executive director of Independence House in Hyannis that received $10,000 from the trafficking grant, said the organization will have counselors available for trafficking victims at police departments and hospitals. The organization will also provide intervention support and educational resources.

Barnstable Police Department was the fourth recipient of the trafficking grant with $14,350 for training to aid trafficking investigations and $1,500 for QR code magnets with tip line information.

How does sex trafficking occur on Cape Cod?

Much of the human trafficking on Cape Cod is done online by sex trafficking persons who arrange “dates” for people, according to Madge, from Galibois' office.

“They exploit their vulnerabilities,” she said.

Others who may be vulnerable are those who come to work on the Cape and Islands from other countries, she said.

Madge also announced a new 24/7 hotline to report human trafficking by text or calling 774-822-0632.

A second grant goes to illegal narcotic drug and firearms investigations

A second grant, coming from the same state office, of $98,998 is for the 2024 Commonwealth's Project Safe Neighborhood Program. The recipients include Galibois' office and the state police assigned to his office at $24,922; Yarmouth Police Department at $29,184; and Falmouth Police Department at $19,892. The funds will be used for equipment to assist in illegal narcotic drug and firearms investigations. Falmouth police also will use grant money to train several officers.

Behavioral Health Innovators, in South Chatham, will use $25,000 in grant funds to expand its youth alternative peer group program.

At the Monday event, state Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, and state Sen. Susan Moran, D-Falmouth, voiced their commitment to a partnership with Galibois' office to work on the human trafficking issue.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Human trafficking on Cape: How $97K can get people out, help survivors