Criminal Justice Students\u27 Knowledge and Perspectives of Human Trafficking: An Exploratory Study

Over the past decade, the crime of human trafficking has received increased attention within the United States and has been recognized as both an international and national problem. Programs and campaigns at the federal level, including the Blue Campaign established by the Department of Homeland Security, have been tasked with following a four prong approach to combat human trafficking: prevention, protection, prosecution, and monitoring. A significant aspect of this approach has been given to providing training and resources to professionals who will encounter human trafficking incidents as part of their responsibilities working in the field. University-based criminal justice programs serve as an occupational feeder for the criminal justice profession. This study examines how knowledgeable criminal justice students are about human trafficking and whether or not they perceive human trafficking as important to their studies. Upon a review of the literature, a survey instrument was developed to study a junior and senior population (n=137) of criminal justice students. The results indicate that students believe human trafficking is important in their studies but have little to no knowledge on federal initiatives or legislation related to human trafficking. Federal agencies tasked with disseminating information about human trafficking need to consider developing materials and strategies that will reach these potential criminal justice employees