Officials meet again to advance case for awareness and recognition training.
The arrest last week in Yonkers of a Florida man accused of crimes involving the illegal transportation of women for the purpose of forced prostitution added a sense of urgency to a county-based task force charged with identifying and implementing measures required to stem a tide of human trafficking crimes believed to be rampant throughout the region.
Officials from an array of federal, state and municipal law enforcement and public safety agencies; labor, customs and immigration departments and legal, social welfare and civic groups gathered yesterday in White Plains to continue formulating a strategy for what one member called a "long-term effort to eliminate the human trafficking crimes taking place everyday in Westchester County."
Prevalance of Human Trafficking
News of last Friday's arrest of Miami resident Nicholas Alvarez on sex trafficking charges was further proof to Pound Ridge Police Chief David Ryan, one of the three founders of the task force, "that the crime of human trafficking might be as prevalent in Westchester as anywhere else in the country."
That the arrest took place during a routine traffic stop was, according to Ryan, "an example of excellent police work by an officer who was perceptive enough to recognize the situation was not what it appeared to be at first, and proceeded to go about his business in a thorough and professional manner. The way he performed is how every law enforcement officer needs to perform—as soon as possible."
According to the county police report, Alvarez was stopped when Officer Donald Palmer noticed the van he was driving on the Saw Mill River Parkway in Yonkers was missing its rear license plate.
Forged proofs of identification, and a vehicle registration check indicating the van had been stolen was enough evidence to take Alvarez and his three female passengers into custody.
"But it was the passenger interviews that led investigators to recognize the seriousness of the situation," Ryan said. "Initially the women refused to cooperate with police authorities. But the officers could tell they were acting out of fear."
"Turns out they had been intimidated, threatened with violence and in some instances beaten by the guy for refusing to cooperate with demands that they prostitute themselves."
Investigations underway by the FBI and Westchester County's public safety office implicate Alvarez in several instances of transporting women across state lines from New York to Virginia. If convicted of the human trafficking crimes he's been accused of, Alvarez faces up to 30 years in federal prison.
In May 2009, Pound Ridge police filed charges against town resident Joseph Yannai, a noted author who wrote the The International Who's Who of Chefs: 2004-2005. Yannai, 66, was later arrested by federal officials after a federal grand jury indicted him on charges related to forced labor, violations of immigration laws, and violations of the Mann Act, a federal law which prohibits human trafficking and white slavery. Yannai remains in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
"These incidents are a clear sign that the size and scope of the problem we have in Westchester is significant," said Ryan. "Anyone who believes that because this is Westchester, we're immune to the problems in the world is either uninformed or naive."
Task Force strategy: Raise awareness of trafficking
Combined efforts by the Pound Ridge Police Department, and two highly-acclaimed social welfare organizations, the International Organization for Adolescents, and My Sisters Place, a shelter for battered women in White Plains, led to the official formation of the Westchester County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force last month.
Today, its roster of participating organizations includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation; U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District, and the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance/Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance.
The New York State Department of Labor is also represented, as is the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office; the Westchester County Office for Women, the Westchester County Family Justice Center; the Westchester County Association of Police Chiefs; the Westchester County Division of Child Welfare; and representatives from the New Rochelle, Mt. Kisco, Mt. Vernon, Peekskill, Port Chester, Pound Ridge, White Plains, Yonkers and Yorktown.
While the task force is expected to grow and evolve over time, Ryan explained that an immediate objective was "to begin raising the level of awareness and understanding of what human trafficking is, not just on the part of law enforcement professionals, but private citizens as well."
"We're talking about people being taken prisoner, forced under threat of personal injury to themselves and their families, to commit crimes," continued Ryan. "It's there and lot more prevalent than most realize. It's just not always out in plain sight."
Ryan said the task force had organized an initial series of training classes that will enable police officers to recognize human trafficking cases, collect evidence and access support resources once a case has been identified.
He added that classes scheduled to commence in late March were completely booked before the meeting had ended.
A more comprehensive educational program, one that eventually provides training "to every cop in the county," will likely begin with proceeds from a $1 million grant the task force is planning to apply for through from the U.S. Department of Justice over the next few months, Ryan said.
Guiding the group through the RFP and grant process is Pound Ridge resident and task force co-founder Alison Boak. Boak has helped in a similar capacity for eight task forces in New York City, Latvia, and the Dominican Republic.
Boak explained that the Justice Department has standards of best practices based on efforts by national and international multi-disciplinary anti-trafficking task forces, "which our group will follow."
"This was our second meeting, so a lot of what's taking place is now relationship-building among our various partners," Boak explained. "We need the participation of all the players, and everyone needs to understand the role each of us plays. It's very much a team effort, and we have to be able to demonstrate the team has the capacity to perform as a functioning unit."
According to Boak, the county task force is one of 42 in the country and "one of the few, if not the only one, that serves a mostly suburban community.
"Our effort here speak to the insidious nature of this crime," Boak said. "It's just as important for Westchester County citizens to recognize human trafficking as it is for citizens of a large urban community. The reason is because it exists, regardless of demographics."
"Slavery, which is what this is, has historically involved one group exploiting another, using fear, intimidation and violence, for profit."
Arrest Raises Level of Urgency for Human Trafficking Task Force - Pleasantville-Briarcliff Manor, NY Patch
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