With the NFL playoffs in full swing, the FBI is looking ahead to Super Bowl 50, which will take place on February 7 at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California. While Super Bowl Sunday is widely regarded as the most popular day in American sports, in 2011 it was also labeled as “the single largest human trafficking incident in the United States” by then-Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. The evidence is unclear as to whether additional victims are trafficked to serve the market of demand created by the Super Bowl, but individuals already trafficked may be moved to the game’s location by traffickers seeking to profit from the city’s influx of people.
In previous years, the FBI’s anti-trafficking efforts were focused on arresting traffickers and purchasers of sex through sting operations. This year, for the first time, the FBI will supplement these sting operations with a victim-centered approach. The new program allows local nonprofit organizations to make the initial contact with potential victims before the FBI steps in to provide victims’ services. With this approach, for example, victim advocates would reach out to a potential trafficking victim and offer social services and a way out of the life prior to the FBI’s intervention. Additionally, the FBI plans to use comfort dogs as part of the outreach program.
With this victim-centered approach, the FBI hopes to overcome the challenges of gaining the potential victim’s trust, which is necessary to help not only the victim – but assists with investigating and prosecuting offenders. FBI Supervisory Special Agent Doug Hunt, who manages anti-trafficking efforts in the San Francisco office, affirms that the FBI “want[s] to do everything [it] can to put that victim at ease and put them in a situation where they feel more safe.” Further, the FBI maintains that it is committed to investing resources to follow up with victims long after the Super Bowl.
Though Super Bowl 50 has been nicknamed the “Golden Super Bowl” based on its location in the Golden State and the “golden [50th] anniversary,” the FBI’s new approach can also be described as golden. The CSE Institute applauds the FBI for adopting a victim-centered approach and changing the way it interacts with trafficking victims leading up to the Super Bowl.