RESEARCH DIVISION
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY
SPECIAL COMMITTEE MINUTES
November 15, 2016
City Council Chamber
Ground Floor, City Hall
117 W. Duval Street
Attendance: Council Members: Sam Newby (Chair), Bill Gulliford (Vice Chair), Aaron Bowman, Anna Lopez Brosche, Katrina Brown, Tommy Hazouri, Joyce Morgan; Assistant General Counsel Paige Johnston; Assistant Council Auditor Kyle Billy; Jordan Elsbury, Administration; John J. Jackson, Yvonne Mitchell, Council Research Division; Legislative Assistant Tess Patterson.
The Chair called the Special Meeting to order at 9:57 a.m. and announced that the topic of the special meeting was human trafficking and a Zika update.
Dr. Kelli Wells, Director, Florida Department of Health-Duval, distributed printed material on the department’s analysis of human trafficking that noted that someone becomes a victim of modern day slavery every 30 seconds. The material described, in detail, what constituted a trafficker, facilitator and buyer.
Dr. Wells noted that November 15th was National Healthy Lunch Day.
In her Zika update, Dr. Wells noted that there were no new cases involving the Zika virus to report in Duval County.
Dr. Wells described an immunization program for young people whose objective is to immunize against cancer and other health threats in the early, young years so as to forestall encountering diseases later in life.
JSO Lt. Kevin Goff made a presentation on human trafficking. He was accompanied by Sgt. Mark Romano.
Lt. Goff defined human trafficking as a modern day form of slavery. He explained that there were two forms of human trafficking: sex trafficking and labor trafficking.
Lt. Goff explained that 74% of the victims of human slavery come from foster homes.
The public’s awareness of human trafficking is becoming more and more prevalent. Lt. Goff likens today’s awareness of human trafficking with the public’s awareness of the issue of domestic violence in the early 1990s.
Lt. Goff said that federal laws aimed at curbing human trafficking are pretty good. He referenced the City Council’s enactment of a sign ordinance targeting human trafficking in strip clubs, bikini bars and other venues as helpful.
JSO partners with the Northeast Human Trafficking Coalition and Victims’ Advocates to provide victims with basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing and long-term counselling that is necessary for recovery and The Human Trafficking Unit of JSO works closely with the Vice Unit. Finding victims of human trafficking is more likely to follow arrests of young women in prostitution busts.
Lt. Goff explained that it is most common to find human trafficking thriving in hotels that are located near interstates.
Florida is third in the nation in human trafficking for both sex and labor.
The Committee next heard form Attorney Crystal Freed.
Ms. Freed has been involved in efforts to eradicate human trafficking in sex in Jacksonville since 2008.
She defined human trafficking as forcing someone to work in subsistence work and not be paid.
The average age in sex trafficking is 12 to 14 years of age.
Sex trafficking victims are young people living on society’s margin such as the disabled or in the LGBT community
Attorney Freed thinks that Jacksonville should be more proactive rather than reactive in its efforts to attack and rid the community of human sex trafficking.
Attorney Freed fielded numerous questions.
There being no further business, the Special Meeting was adjourned at 10:42 a.m.
John J. Jackson, Council Research Division (904) 630-1729
11.21.16
Posted: 3:00 p.m.