Human Trafficking and the Homeland Security Enterprise: A Primer

Course Overview

Human trafficking is best described as the despicable exploitation of others for profit through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of forced/exploited labor or commercial sex. This pernicious act decimates the lives of the trafficked, fracturing families, and exploits the victim’s body and labor as a renewable resource. 

Traffickers seek out vulnerable populations, commonly using techniques of physical and psychological abuse—utilizing fear and intimidation to exert control over their victims. Some traffickers keep their victims under lock and key, while others use less obvious methods, specifically debt bondage—asserting erroneous financial obligations wherein the victim feels honor-bound to satisfy dubious debt.

Trafficking has been described as akin to slavery and persists in all areas of the world with a significant presence in California. Commonly seen as tied with illegal arms sales, human trafficking is referred to as the second largest global criminal industry and as the fastest growing criminal activity in the 21st century. 

The International Labour Organization estimates human trafficking generates approximately $150 billion a year globally. 

This self-paced self-study course will examine numerous aspects of this criminal activity, to include forced and exploited labor, the concept of a “victim centered approach via trauma informed care”; why fire and emergency services play a critical role in the identification and reporting of suspicious behavior; and emerging strategies and threats. 

The course creator has assembled expertise in their respective fields to bring deep meaningful discussion and context to this rapidly evolving criminal activity. 

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Define human trafficking (including all types and kinds: commercial sex, forced/exploited labor, domestic servitude, etc.) 
• Identify applicable state, federal and international laws 
• Recognize the global scope of human trafficking 
• Identify “push” and “pull’ factors relevant to human trafficking 
• Express the critical role fire/EMS play in the identification and reporting of potential trafficking 
• Identify how international terrorist organizations are expanding their criminal activities to include human trafficking and slavery 
• Explain how traffickers have exploited survivors of natural disasters 
• Articulate how traffickers exploit disaster rebuild efforts 

About the Instructor

Benjamin Thomas Greer, J.D., M.A.  Emergency Management Instructor, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) Mr. Greer’s role at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is as a subject matter expert in the field of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation; specifically instructing and developing human trafficking courses for law enforcement and emergency management personnel. He serves as a SME embed in the California State Threat assessment Center (STAC) providing anti-trafficking context for STAC analysis as well as providing issue directed briefings for the OES Director and California legislators/policy makers on the current state of human trafficking in California.

Before joining Cal OES, he served as a Special Deputy Attorney General for the California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General.  He led a team of attorneys and non-attorneys in a comprehensive report for the California Attorney General entitled, “The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012” and published extensively on various aspects of trafficking.  Aside from his work with CalOES, he recently graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security Master’s Degree Program and is a Research Associate for the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Applied Research in Human Trafficking (CCARHT). During his time at CHDS his thesis, “Connecting the Dots of an Opaque Crime:  Analyzing California’s Human Trafficking Task Force Information Sharing Framework and Practices,” was a finalist for Outstanding Thesis Award, Cohort 2001/2002.