Safe at home at Wilson County

Jan. 12—Instances of human trafficking have increased dramatically across the country.

Wilson County is no exception.

Residents who may have been victimized by the rise can utilize the state's Safe at Home program to regain peace of mind by applying for a substitute address.

"We have dealt with some human trafficking cases in Wilson County, and what's important to know is what it is, what method they use to lure people in, and the recognizable signs of someone involved in human trafficking," Wilson County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) Public Information Officer Scott Moore said. "The best thing that we can do as a community is to educate ourselves and make sure that we stay vigilant, because it could happen to anyone."

Common themes that WCSO has dealt with in its human trafficking cases include violence, manipulation, false promises to well-paying jobs, romantic relationships and the use of social media.

"A lot of these traffickers have utilized social media to scout out different victims they're interested in," Moore said. "One of the kinds of people they're interested in are those who are psychologically or emotionally vulnerable."

As it's common for individuals to talk about what's going on in their lives on social media, traffickers can use that information to manipulate their victims.

"They can really see what your likes are and what your dislikes are, and when they do come into contact with you, they'll groom you," Moore said. "So, how you groom people is after you've researched their likes and dislikes, you get into a situation where, other than using the lure method of violence, they'll groom you over a period of time. They'll give you the things that you want, say the things you want to hear."

Common signs that someone is a victim of human trafficking that the WCSO has found include hesitation to report the incident, being in a suspicious circumstance like being alone at a hotel or not being in control of their money.

"They may feel like no one believes them," Moore said. "They may feel that they're the ones that made bad choices, and they're afraid of getting help because of what may be said about them."

Personal information like home addresses are easy to find when they're public record, which can make it easy for abusers to track and find their victims. The Safe at Home address confidentiality program gives substitute addresses to victims of human trafficking, stalking, domestic abuse or any sexual offense.

"As law enforcement, when we're dealing with situations like this, we want to make sure that we don't compromise the victim and it (the victim's address) is not available for public review," Moore said.

Safe at Home Program Coordinator Stacy Scruggs pointed to the benefit of giving victims a substitute address.

"If you think about yourself as a resident of the state of Tennessee as you go about your daily life, all of the people that you give your home address to that we really don't think about on a daily basis," Scruggs said. "For victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and stalking, every time that they give their home address out to someone, they are concerned about that information potentially becoming a matter of public record."

For victims, information like their home address being public record opens up the possibility of an offender finding out where they are.

"The first thing that we're going to do is issue that participant a substitute address that they can use for all legal purposes so that as they are coming into contact with state and local government agencies, they are not actually giving their home address to anyone," Scruggs said. "They are only giving out the substitute address that we have provided for them. As they start using that substitute address, the Safe at Home program will start collecting all first-class and certified mail on their behalf. We then forward that mail to the participants at their confidential location."

Applicants must be victims intending to move to a new address in the next 90 days as the program cannot remove an existing address from public record.

HomeSafe is a program that runs a 24-hour helpline and provides emergency transportation and shelter to victims. The program is also Safe at Home's local partner in Wilson County.

"Often, when an individual is experiencing violence, tracking is a huge consideration," HomeSafe Executive Director Jacob Goings said. "The Safe at Home program is something that we use often with many of our clients that are being placed in shelter in order to maintain confidentiality regarding their location."

Hypervigilance is common among the victims that HomeSafe helps.

"The tiniest little things that make you feel safe and secure can make a huge difference," Goings said.