Press Release: GOVERNOR KEMP LAUNCHES UNIT TO FIGHT HUMAN TRAFFICKING

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Governor Kemp launches unit to fight human trafficking
ATLANTA, Sept. 16, 2022 — 
     Gov. Brian Kemp announced a new Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Unit within the Georgia Bureau of Investigation today at a joint press conference.
     “In no terms are perpetrators of modern-day slavery going to have any place in the state of Georgia,” said Gov. Kemp. “With this new HEAT Unit, Director Reynolds will have the resources he needs to crack down on this criminal enterprise and ensure the perpetrators are held accountable.”
     The HEAT Unit will focus on investigation and enforcement to prevent and punish traffickers and to ensure justice for the victims, the governor said. It will work alongside state and national task forces and will partner with the FBI and GBI, Attorney General Chris Carr said.
     “I want to applaud Director Reynolds and his team for their hard work in creating this new unit,” said first lady Marty Kemp, co-chair of the Georgians for Refuge, Action, Compassion, and Education (GRACE) Commission. “I am confident it will be a force for good in our state.”
     Brian and Marty Kemp have engaged in the fight against human trafficking for years, passing legislation to protect children and forming coalitions like GRACE to aid survivors, the governor said.
     Georgia saw only three new criminal human trafficking cases in 2019, a decrease of 67% from 2017, according to the Human Trafficking Institute. From 2017 to 2018, Georgia Cares, a non-profit that serves child sex trafficking victims, received over 1,000 calls to the statewide hotline, according to the Georgia Department of Administrative Services.
     Human trafficking is modern-day slavery that involves illegally transporting victims through deception or force to coerce them to engage in commercial sex or forced labor. Sex trafficking disproportionately affects women and children.

 

Contact The Office of the Governor
Primary: (404) 656-1776
Press Secretary: John Dillon | john.dillon@georgia.gov
 

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