Local organizations join to break the Chains of Human Trafficking

(BROKEN ARROW, Okla.) The evening started out with a short video of a teenage girl receiving a text message from a man named Rick. The mother asked, ‘who was that?’ The girl mumbled, ‘someone from school’ and went to her room. The doorbell rings and the mother answers. A large, hairy, adult man is at the door and asks to see her daughter. The mother pleasantly says, ‘sure, she is in her room’, and then escorts the adult man to her daughter’s room. She politely asks him if he needs anything, a drink or snack. He says no and she closes the door and leaves them alone. 

Forum attendees are uncomfortable as to what just happened. The video made their point. Who are you inviting into your child’s bedroom? When we allow our children to chat with strangers and do not know who they are talking to, we allow them into our home. We have just invited the predator into our lives. 

The Broken Arrow Police Department partnered with Broken Arrow Public Schools for a Human Trafficking Forum on Monday, March 4, to raise awareness on the growing threat of human trafficking and exploitation in the Broken Arrow community. The Demand Project, Muscogee Creek Nation, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, Broken Arrow PTA, and Broken Arrow Public Schools also took part in the panel discussion. 

What do the “chains of human trafficking” look like? Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, Chief Agent Craig Williams said, it’s not the handcuffs and chains we see in the movies. The chains of human trafficking are the mental or emotional attachments made between predators and vulnerable children. They stem from the emotional bonds and interactions of the people our children know, and the people our children call friend.

While handcuffs and chains are a reality and should not be discounted, we did a disservice to the public when we used handcuffs, manacles, and a ball and chain around the ankle to get people to pay attention to human trafficking. 

The first contact law enforcement experience when they find a ‘human trafficking victim’ is not one of gratitude, Williams says. It is one of an uncooperative teenager or young adult who says; that is not my trafficker, that is my boyfriend. The teen or young adult are trauma bonded to the trafficker with an intense loyalty. 

Broken Arrow Police Sergeant Ian Buchanan tells parents to be aware of their children’s vulnerabilities whether they are physical or mental. 

“Try to polish them up and help them not be so vulnerable,” he encourages. “These people that are invisible to you, are right on your children’s devices.”

“Audit what your kids are doing. Traffickers target the most vulnerable of children.” 

Panelists agreed, you should know what is on your kid’s cell phone and implement rules as early as possible. Children’s phones should be monitored daily and turned in before going to bed. Chatrooms were identified as a portal into your home. The experts also said it is important for parents to know all phone passwords and user IDs and to not allow apps on phones that they can’t access. 

Williams warned against game consoles, saying they are a gateway to “game and groom.” He said gaming consoles that have chat features are a platform to allow teenagers and preteens to communicate with predators. They are a portal to a stranger into your house. 

Travel is not required! When a child has been trafficked, many times they are not that far away. There have even been some cases when the victim comes home every night. The victim will go on a date that their trafficker has setup, and they return home that evening. 

There are two major types of trafficking in the United States, labor trafficking and sex trafficking. And human traffickers don’t necessarily look like Freddy Kruger. Instead, they tend to be pretty charming and can look like anybody. So, be aware and beware, the panel warns.

Kristin Weis, founder of The Demand Project, said it will take strength and courage to break bad phone and gaming habits that have already been formed. 

“When you decide it is time to monitor your teenager’s phone or take it away at night, it is like a detox, tensions will run high,” Weis said. Parents tell her “Everything blows up” when they take their children’s phones away, but she says let it blow up; that’s a lot better than their child being trafficked.

She said, in most cases, parents own the phones and had to sign a contract to get them. Their children should do the same. The Demand Project even provides sample contracts for children to sign in order to have phones. 

The Demand Project also provided event attendees with potential signs of grooming: unexpected gifts, changing of online passwords, changes in behavior, appearance and social interaction, and increases in anxiety and anger. 

Muscogee Creek Nation Attorney General Geri Wisner received applause during the event, after giving a powerful speech about “old-fashioned” sentiments such as ‘it takes a village to raise a child,’ and ‘I am not my son’s best friend, I am his mother.’

When it comes to the children, she says, it does not matter what tribe they belong to, or if they are Native or not. They are children, they are survivors, and they are all our responsibility. 

The panel also agreed this information isn’t meant to scare you and have you live in fear. Chief Agent Craig Williams said, be happy and live your life. This information is meant to educate you.

You can watch the panel discussion in its entirety here.

If you think someone's life or safety is in immediate danger, call 911. If you suspect someone is the victim of human trafficking, then please contact the OBN Human Trafficking Hotline at (855) 617-2288.