Law Enforcement Getting Trained To Fight Sex Trafficking
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Law enforcement officers across the state are now better trained to identify and combat sex traffickers.
Training sessions have prepared more than 1,700 police officers and prosecutors since 2013. That's when the legislature appropriated $700,000 to fight human sex trafficking.
Leaders say the next challenge is to change the culture.
"A young boy grows up to be a man who believes it's entirely OK to pay for and seek sexual gratification and you're entitled to that, and not recognizing the harm that it does to our victims, to our community, then that's the kind of community we end up getting," Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said.
Since training began, the number of arrests and convictions have skyrocketed. Funding for the training expires at the end of the month.