Q&A
NYPD's sex trafficking hotline statistics and staffing
1:08:40
ยท
134 sec
Council Member Salaam inquires about the NYPD's dedicated sex trafficking hotline, including call statistics and staffing. Deputy Chief Carlos Ortiz explains the current setup and operation of the hotline.
- The hotline is now part of the Special Victims Unit, operating 24 hours a day
- Detectives handle calls and triage them to appropriate units
- Calls come from various sources including hospitals, ACS, and mandated reporters
- Exact numbers of calls specifically related to sex trafficking are not available due to the nature of how cases are initially reported and later identified
Yusef Salaam
1:08:40
In 2017, the NYPD created a dedicated sex trafficking hotline for victims and concerned individuals who want to report trafficking.
1:08:50
What I wanna know is how many calls did the hotline receive in 2024, how many individuals were under 18, and what training do the officers who staff the hotline receive?
Carlos Ortiz
1:09:02
So when, when I took over, in 2022, they actually, gave, special victims human trafficking.
1:09:09
It used to be part of Vice and they they split up because they fig they figured there's more of a coordination with special victims than it that was with with Vice.
1:09:18
Now I have a I have a 24 hour hotline, so I merged the calls together.
1:09:22
It's a 24 hour hotline.
1:09:23
I have, detectives, handling those those calls.
1:09:27
So along with, calls that may come in because there's a call that may come in and and like we say, a lot of our survivors may not say I'm being sex trafficked.
1:09:36
They may say a couple of things and that that that detective on the other line now has to kinda, like you said, read into it saying, okay.
1:09:42
Well, you know what?
1:09:43
This this may be better off going to the sex trafficking unit, and we reach out to them and we give them the cases.
1:09:47
I don't have the exact numbers, because the hotline we some of those calls at the beginning are not labeled as sex trafficking until, let's say, one of my adult squad, special victims investigators speaks to the person and goes, wait a minute.
1:10:01
Oh, this is a human trafficking.
1:10:03
And now they work in coordination with human trafficking because they are part of my unit, which again was the best thing that happened because now they can all work together.
1:10:10
And again, I'm big on not retraumatizing that survivor with having to tell her story twice.
1:10:16
So this way, she's she's told the story to that, let's say, that special victim's investigator that first time and now that's a continuation of pretty much just not getting getting the other, I guess, the other, by choice of words, the other troops, involved.
1:10:28
So that hotline is 24 hours a day.
1:10:30
Like I said, it's, at least 2 or 3 detectives on each tour.
1:10:34
They they kinda triage all those calls, and that those calls come from everywhere.
1:10:38
Those calls come from the hospital.
1:10:39
They come from ACS.
1:10:40
They come from mandated reporters.
1:10:42
They come from from everywhere.
1:10:44
And then at that point, they kinda parse it out to, let's say, a Brooklyn child, Brooklyn adults.
1:10:50
It could be a transit case.
1:10:52
And then it it also does, human human trafficking.