Cathy O’Keeffe of Braking Traffik and I wrote a memorandum of support for the Iowa Attorney General’s budget request on human trafficking. It is attached to this post at the bottom. Mike Ferjak, Senior Criminal Investigator in the AG’s office wrote a response I thought I’d share. Here it is:
Date: Tue, Mar 24, 2015 at 11:01 AM
Dear Terri and Cathy:
I am moved by and more than appreciative for the support expressed in your eloquent and strong letter of support for Attorney General Miller’s request to fund HT covert operations for FY16 and FY17. Our strategy is to conduct coordinated, intelligence supported covert operations in various locations in Iowa utilizing federal, state and local law enforcement and victim service entities. As you both know the true number of incidents and level of pervasiveness of human trafficking in Iowa is not known. It is my intent that these carefully designed and controlled operations will, in the immediate view recover victims of human trafficking, incapacitate offenders and train more officers and in the longer, strategic view help us to assess these issues and collect meaningful data to predict enforcement and services requirements and plan effective ongoing operational protocols. All of this will help to responsibly shape future requests for specific resources as the issues and needs become better defined.
Thank you,
Mike
MICHAEL J. FERJAK, M.A.
Senior Criminal Investigator
Iowa Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General
Please consider contacting your legislators (use this link) to also express your support of this funding. They need to hear from you! Thank you!
Teresa Downing-Matibag
You can read our joint memorandum by clicking the link below: