By Emmanuel Arthur - Ewusie

Ghana's child street crime is a complicated issue that calls for striking a careful balance between protecting national security, respecting human rights, and applying the law. The term "streetism" describes the situation where children live and labor on the streets, frequently without access to basic supplies and at risk from different sources. To address the underlying causes of streetism, safeguard vulnerable children, and maintain social well-being, it is imperative to strike a balance between these objectives. The basic idea of human rights is at the center of the problem. Every child is entitled to education, a secure and supportive home, and defense against abuse and exploitation. But these rights are frequently violated by child streetism in Ghana, where children are put at risk of exploitation, abuse, and neglect. As a result, the protection and realization of children's rights must be given top priority in any strategy to combat streetism, and this strategy should be informed by both Ghanaian law and international human rights norms. Regarding child streetism, criminal law is also very important. It's important to distinguish between criminal behavior and the circumstances that lead to streetism, even though some youngsters may participate in criminal activity while living on the streets. Penalties by themselves may worsen the cycle of poverty and vulnerability and are insufficient to address the root causes of streetism. Instead, social initiatives that deal with family dissolution, poverty, and limited access to healthcare and education should be used in conjunction with criminal law enforcement. In addition, when tackling child streetism, national security implications are considered. Streetism has the potential to worsen social unrest and jeopardize public safety, especially in cities where a high proportion of youngsters live on the streets. Thus, combating streetism involves preserving community stability and security in addition to upholding individual rights. But rather than using punitive tactics, security measures must be put into place in a way that upholds human rights and encourages long-term solutions. This essay aims to present a thorough examination of youth street crime in Ghana, looking at its effects on national security, criminal law enforcement, and human rights. It attempts to contribute to a fuller knowledge of the complex issues faced by child streetism and to inform evidence-based methods for addressing this important issue in Ghana by examining legal frameworks, policy responses, and grassroot activities. In Ghana, the issue of children living and working on the streets creates difficult problems where criminal law, national security, and human rights intersect. This study looks at the causes, prevalence, and effects of child street behavior, considering how it affects children's rights and welfare, the application of the law, and maintaining national security. The research investigates legislative frameworks, policy responses, and grassroots activities targeted at resolving child streetism in Ghana using a multidisciplinary analysis. Additionally, it assesses the efficacy of the current strategies and makes recommendations for a fair and rights-based strategy that puts the child's best interests first while maintaining public safety and security.

Unpublished Paper 2024. 19p.

By Brenda Scheuermann, Kathy Martinez-Prather, Anthony Petrosino,

The research tested the use of a multi-faceted, school-based law enforcement (SBLE) framework to determine how it contributes to multiple outcomes for 25 middle and high schools. Outcomes measured pertained to student victimization and delinquency, the use of exclusionary discipline practices, school climate, and student-officer interactions. Reliable findings were disseminated for implementation and further research in schools nationwide. The impact research questions are provided in this report. The framework for implementing school policing is provided.

San Marco, TX: Texas State University , 2022. 43p.

By Gilbert Munoz Cornejo

This study investigates the incidence and characteristics of cybersecurity data breaches across U.S. rural and urban hospitals from 2016 to 2022, employing a two-stage design. Stage 1 used logistic regression to determine whether a hospital had a breach, controlling for key variables. Stage 2 analyzed the subset of 212 hospitals that experienced a breach, focusing on breach type, and breach location. The results revealed that 3.46% of hospitals experienced a breach, with urban facilities showing a slightly higher rate (3.84%) than rural ones (2.64%). Larger, non profit, and non-affiliated hospitals and those in the Northeast faced higher breach odds. Once breached, no significant rural–urban differences emerged regarding breach characteristics, but year of breach, ownership type, and membership affiliation played key roles in how incidents manifested. These findings underscore the importance of targeted cybersecurity strategies, informing healthcare administrators, policymakers, and cybersecurity professionals in safeguarding patient data across diverse hospital settings.    

Security Journal, 2025, 21p.

 By Goroga Oabile  and · France Maphosa 

For a long time, universities applied the principle of in loco parentis, when dealing with issues relating to students’ welfare on campus, including the provision of security. Standing in the place of parents, universities could decide on issues that affected students without consulting them. However, students are increasingly demanding their rights as adults, including the right to be consulted in decisions that affect them. The students’ demand for their rights has, however, often militated against universities’ efforts to provide security on campus which they are mandated to do. Using a sample of 60 students from the University of Botswana, selected through the purposive cluster sampling method, this study found that the most important demand for students is to be consulted when decisions that afect them are being made including decisions on. Students are prepared to relinquish some of their rights in exchange for their security if consulted. However, the primary responsibility for providing security on campus is for university authorities. 

Security Journal, 2025, 20p.

By R. L. Stevenson. Edited by Colin Heston

The Amateur Emigrant" by Robert Louis Stevenson is a vivid and personal account of his journey from Scotland to America in 1879. The narrative is divided into two parts: "From the Clyde to Sandy Hook" and "Across the Plains."

In the first part, Stevenson describes his experiences aboard the emigrant ship, the S.S. Devonia. He provides a detailed portrayal of the ship's conditions, the diverse group of passengers, and the challenges they face during the voyage. Stevenson's keen observations and empathetic nature shine through as he captures the hardships, camaraderie, and resilience of the emigrants. His writing brings to life the cramped quarters, the monotonous diet, and the various personalities he encounters, offering a poignant glimpse into the lives of those seeking a new beginning in America.

The second part of the narrative, "Across the Plains," recounts Stevenson's overland journey from New York to California. Traveling by train, he continues to document his experiences and the people he meets along the way. Stevenson reflects on the vast landscapes, the cultural differences, and the sense of adventure that permeates the journey. His writing is marked by a blend of humor, insight, and a deep appreciation for the human spirit.

Read-Me.Org Inc. Australia. 2025. 234p.

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By Robert Louis Stevenson.

An Inland Voyage, the lead story in Volume 1of the works of  Robert Louis Stevenson, is a travel narrative, chronicling his canoe journey with his friend Sir Walter Simpson through the rivers and canals of Belgium and northern France in 1876. The book is Stevenson's first published work and is written in a richly descriptive and reflective style that blends travelogue with personal observation and cultural commentary. Their journey follows a winding path along the River Oise and other waterways, taking them through quaint villages, farmlands, and forested regions of a rural Europe that was rapidly changing. Underlying the travel narrative is a strong romantic sensibility—an admiration for the slow rhythm of river travel, a yearning for solitude and contemplation, and a quiet rebellion against the industrialized world. The voyage becomes not just a geographical journey, but a philosophical one as Stevenson muses on freedom, idleness, companionship, and the pleasures of the open road (or water).

While not a work of drama or high adventure, An Inland Voyage is valued for its lyrical style, gentle wit, and the early glimpse it offers into Stevenson’s literary voice. It also prefigures themes that would recur in his later works: a fascination with journeying, a sensitivity to character and setting, and a subtle questioning of societal norms. Overall, An Inland Voyage is a charming and meditative account that blends lighthearted anecdotes with deeper reflection, portraying a world both tranquil and quietly profound through Stevenson’s perceptive and poetic eye.

Underlying the travel narrative is a strong romantic sensibility—an admiration for the slow rhythm of river travel, a yearning for solitude and contemplation, and a quiet rebellion against the industrialized world. The voyage becomes not just a geographical journey, but a philosophical one as Stevenson muses on freedom, idleness, companionship, and the pleasures of the open road (or water). While not a work of drama or high adventure, An Inland Voyage is valued for its lyrical style, gentle wit, and the early glimpse it offers into Stevenson’s literary voice. It also prefigures themes that would recur in his later works: a fascination with journeying, a sensitivity to character and setting, and a subtle questioning of societal norms.

Other works in this volume include Travels with a Donkey, A Mountain Town in France, and Edinburgh Picturesque Notes.

Read-Me.Org Inc. Australia. 2025 . 220p.

By Elina Treyger, Maya Buenaventura, Ian Mitch, Laura Bellows, John S. Hollywood

Between 2020 and 2024, increasing volumes of aliens sought entry at the southwest U.S. border without valid entry documents. Several policies adopted since 2020 have sought to incentivize aliens — particularly those who have intentions of seeking asylum — to present themselves at ports of entry (POEs) and disincentivize crossing unlawfully between POEs. These trends and policies raise a question of the capacity of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP's) Office of Field Operations (OFO) to process such aliens and unaccompanied alien children (UACs) through POEs. A congressional request sought an analysis that could shed light on whether and how well OFO would be able to process increased volumes and the resources it would need to do so. This report is the result of that analysis.

Key Findings

There are multiple pathways for processing likely asylum seekers and UACs through POEs. This is a function of several factors, such as whether the alien arrives with a CBP One appointment; whether they are a member of a family unit, a UAC, or a single adult; whether derogatory information is discovered about the alien; and detention facility capacity.

OFO's capacity to process this population varies across time and POEs and is constrained by a mix of individual case characteristics; staffing; infrastructure and equipment; capacity; the capacity of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; and operational demands.

The authors infer that OFO's effective monthly capacity to process likely asylum seekers and UACs in a safe, humane, and orderly manner at the level of resources present as of May 2023 is around 47,000–48,000 aliens.

Substantially increasing OFO processing capacity such that all or most likely asylum seekers and UACs (based on levels observed between October 2022 and February 2024) are processed at POEs would be extremely challenging at best.

Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2025, 109p.

By Michael E. Clements and Gretta L. Goodwin

This Study Drug and human trafficking are longstanding and pervasive problems. Federal law enforcement agencies have noted the use of online marketplaces, such as social media sites and messaging platforms, in drug and human trafficking. Further, agencies have expressed concern about traffickers’ increased use of virtual currencies—that is, digital representations of value that are usually not government-issued legal tender. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 includes a provision for GAO to review how a range of methods and payment systems, including online marketplaces and virtual currencies, are used to facilitate drug and human trafficking. This report examines what is known about drug and human traffickers’ use of online marketplaces and virtual currencies, efforts by federal and state agencies to counter such trafficking, and benefits and challenges virtual currencies pose for detecting and prosecuting drug and human trafficking, among other objectives. GAO reviewed federal agency and industry documentation and GAO’s relevant body of past work; interviewed officials at federal and state agencies and industry and nonprofit stakeholders; and reviewed recently adjudicated cases involving the use of virtual currencies in drug or human trafficking.

  GAO-22-105101., Washington DC: U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2022. 57p.

By Nina Wilén | Kwesi Aning

Over the past decade, Western and multilateral security interventions in the Sahel have failed to stabilize the region, while national and local efforts, particularly in Mali and Burkina Faso, have remained largely militarized. These approaches have proven ineffective in addressing the underlying causes of instability, such as food insecurity, lack of basic services, and limited economic opportunities. The key lesson learned is that military action alone cannot resolve the Sahel’s security crisis—political engagement from local, national, and regional actors is crucial. Key Lessons Learned 1. Local Ownership is Essential – Sustainable security strategies must be designed primarily by national and regional actors. External support should enhance, rather than dictate, local approaches. 2. Partners Can Become Unreliable – Political shifts, particularly military coups, have led to abrupt changes in alliances, as seen in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, where governments expelled French and Western security forces in favor of Russian partnerships. Rapid changes need to be taken into account by external actors when engaging. 3. Risk of Equipment Falling into Wrong Hands – The withdrawal of international forces has often resulted in the unintended transfer of military equipment and infrastructure to juntas or non-state actors. Before providing new equipment to partners in the region, reflection is needed about what type of material, should be provided, when, and to whom

New York: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V. , Counter Extremism Project, 2025. 28p.

By  Talia A. Dunyak 

Over the past several decades, travel and tourism have become both more accessible and cheaper for people. Until the Covid-19 pandemic, tourism was projected to continue growing rapidly in popularity, with estimates that by 2030 more than 1.8 billion people would travel internationally every year. 2 The increase in international and domestic travel and tourism brings benefits such as expanded cultural understanding, economic growth, and preservation of local monuments and traditions. However, despite the benefits of tourism, there is a dark side to the industry: human trafficking. This report seeks to map out the intersections between human trafficking and tourism and focuses primarily on sex trafficking and labor trafficking’s presence within the tourism sector. The discussion of sex trafficking will include sex tourism, child sex tourism, and the use of hotels in the sex trade. The discussion of labor exploitation will include child labor and beggars, hospitality staff, construction staff, and labor trafficking in the supply chain. The report will also touch on how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected and changed modern slavery in the tourism industry. The report will conclude with mapping the current interventions and recommendations for combatting instances of human trafficking within the tourism industry. 

Human Trafficking Search,  2021 28p.

Dany Bahar, Rebecca J. Brough, and Giovanni Peri

The inflow of refugees and their subsequent integration can be an important challenge for both the refugees themselves and the host society. Policy interventions can improve the lives and economic success of refugees and of their communities. In this paper, we review the socioeconomic integration policy interventions focused on refugees and the evidence surrounding them. We also highlight some interesting topics for future research and stress the need to rigorously evaluate their effectiveness and implications for the successful integration of refugees.

WORKING PAPER 687 · MARCH 2024

Washington DC: Center for Global Development, 2024. 55p.

By Asad L. Asad

Drawing on in-depth interviews with 50 Latin American immigrants in Dallas, Texas, this article uncovers systematic distinctions in how immigrants holding different legal statuses perceive the threat of deportation. Undocumented immigrants recognize the precarity of their legal status, but they sometimes feel that their existence off the radar of the US immigration regime promotes their long-term presence in the country. Meanwhile, documented immigrants perceive stability in their legal status, but they sometimes view their existence on the radar of the US immigration regime as disadvantageous to their long-term presence in the country. The article offers the concept of system embeddedness—individuals' perceived legibility to institutions that maintain formal records—as a mechanism through which perceived visibility to the US immigration regime entails feelings of risk, and perceived invisibility feelings of safety. In this way, the punitive character of the US immigration regime can overwhelm its integrative functions, chilling immigrants out of opportunities for material and social well-being through legalization and legal status. More broadly, system embeddedness illuminates how perceived visibility to a record-keeping body that combines punitive and integrative goals represents a mechanism of legal stratification for subordinated populations—even absent prior punitive experiences with other social control institutions that might otherwise be thought to trigger their system avoidance.

Law & Society Review, Volume 54, Number 1 (2020): 133–167

By Global Detention Project

  Immigration detention is an important tool of immigration control in Taiwan (also “Taiwan Province of China”), where detainee numbers have steadily risen in recent years. Although conditions in Taiwan’s detention centres have frequently been criticised, they have received little international scrutiny because of China’s opposition to Taiwan’s UN membership. Taiwan also lacks an asylum system, though the need to establish asylum procedures has grown increasingly urgent as the numbers of Hong Kong residents seeking protection have grown.

Geneva, SWIT: Global Detention Project, 2024. 30p.  

By Polly Mackenzie

The current asylum system is built on a culture of disbelief that inherently lacks compassion, is not competent and therefore does not control immigration in the way the government aspires to. We have, as a nation, lost confidence in it. Recent experiments in different systems responding to the geopolitical events in Ukraine, Afghanistan and Hong Kong have started to develop new models we can all be more proud of. This paper argues that the Home Office should lose its responsibility for immigration, with a new arm’s-length body named Sanctuary UK set up to overhaul the system and create a new more humane system, learning from the best of the recent innovations.

London: Demos, 2022. 25p.

By Nieves Fernández-Rodríguez & Luisa Feline Freier

Against the background of remarkable policy liberalization and the subsequent steep increase of forced displacement in Latin America, the literature on immigration and refugee policy in the region has gained momentum. Although largely overlooked, this literature has the potential to provide a corrective to political migration theory from the Global South. In this article we carry out a systematic, critical review of the regional literature along three thematic axes: legal analyses, normative and explanatory studies. Based on the review of 108 journal articles, we describe the characteristics, main contributions and research gaps of each thematic area. By analyzing legal norms and policy implementation gaps, existing studies on Latin America provide an understanding of migration policy over time and offer important empirical evidence for the advancement of political migration theory, challenging some of the main assumptions attributed to policies in the Global South. However, the lack of engagement with the broader literature and the absence of systematic analyses of its determinants and effects significantly limit the potential of this body of work. We close by making concrete suggestions of how future studies could fill existing gaps both in theoretical and empirical terms, and which methodological approach should be employed.

Comparative Migration Studies volume 12, Article number: 15 (2024)

By Peter William Walsh and Mihnea Cuibus

This briefing examines the deportation, removal, and voluntary departure of people without the right to be in the UK. It presents statistics on the numbers and characteristics of people who are removed from the UK or who leave voluntarily.

Key Points Returns from the UK remained low compared to historical levels but returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2023 Enforced returns have declined sharply over the long run Voluntary returns increased significantly after the pandemic, following several years of decline Around 41% of those who submitted an asylum application between 2010 and 2020, and were refused, had been returned from the UK by June 2022 Around 1.3% of people who arrived by small boat from 2018 to June 2023 were returned from the UK during that period In the year ending 30 September 2023, the top nationalities among returnees were Albanian (20%), Indian (15%), and Brazilian (12%) In the year ending 30 September 2023, 16% of all people removed from the UK were foreign national offenders, and 53% of returned FNOs were EU citizens EU citizens made up a majority of people refused entry at the UK border after 2021 \

Oxford, UK: The Migration Observatory

COMPAS (Centre on Migration, Policy and Society)

University of Oxford2024. 15p.

By Melanie Griffiths and

Peter William Walsh

This briefing examines immigration detention in the UK. It discusses who is detained, for how long, with what effects, and the financial costs of operating the system.

Key Points Immigration detention is used worldwide by governments to facilitate immigration enforcement, but has negative impacts on detainees’ mental health. The use of immigration detention in the UK hit a high of around 32,000 in 2015. Numbers have been falling since then, with around 16,000 people entering detention in 2023. Around 1,800 people were in immigration detention on 30 June 2024. In mid-2024, the UK had an estimated detention capacity of around 2,200 beds, of which around 77% were occupied. In 2023, the Home Office detained 18 children for immigration-related purposes, down from around 1,100 in 2009. In 2023, 39% of immigration detainees were held for more than 28 days. Release on immigration bail – an alternative to detention where detainees are released into the community – increased from 2010 to 2021 but fell by 2023. In Q2 2024, the average daily cost to hold an individual in immigration detention was £122. In the financial year 2023-24, the Home Office issued 838 compensation payments for unlawful detention, totalling around £12 million.

Oxford, UK: Migration Observatory, University of Oxford, 2024. 18p.

By Amber Horning, Loretta Stalans,

In 2019, the National Institute of Justice funded the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Loyola University Chicago to understand how sex traffickers learn how to facilitate sex work. This study sought to address Priority Area 3 of the NIJ solicitation: Building Knowledge of the "Grooming" Process of Traffickers (i.e., how does one become a sex or labor trafficker?). Previous studies funded by NIJ examined "traffickers' decision-making and organizational processes"; however, much of how one becomes a sex trafficker and its processes remain unexplored. This study provides empirical data to address this critical gap in the knowledge. We use the broader term of sex market facilitator (SMF) rather than sex trafficker as persons involved in facilitation change roles and jobs. Because of their varying roles and tasks, legally qualifying as a sex trafficker can change by day, week, month, or year and often change across the life course. Typically, individuals are involved in multiple roles in the sex trade; these roles can include sex work, recruitment, assisting sex workers or facilitators, and primary facilitation. Sex market facilitation can involve recruiting and scheduling clients for sex workers, protecting workers during interactions with clients, managing operations, and profiting from the sex workers' earnings. In this study, we use the broader term SMF because it includes those who legally qualify for pandering or sex trafficking. As previously mentioned, their legal designation can change quickly or over time. We use the term sex worker as a neutral and inclusive term and are not implying the voluntary or involuntary nature of selling sex. Individuals who sell sex can drift between voluntarily selling sex and being coercive or physically forced to sell sex. The goals of this study were to 1) provide an understanding of the social learning process involved in sex market facilitation, such as who passed down those skills, what is passed down, and how this impacts their recruitment and management strategies 2) evaluate how these social learning processes vary based on participants' prior traumatic experiences and master status designations.1 and 3) establish how participants are socially and criminally networked and how this impacts facilitation. There have been many studies about how sex traffickers recruit sex workers. However, very few studies evaluated how sex traffickers are recruited and learn to recruit sex workers or sex trafficking victims or facilitate sex work, along with facilitation strategies, including interpersonal and economic coercion. This study aimed to close the gap in the literature by investigating the etiology of becoming a sex trafficker or a sex market facilitator and how this knowledge is transmitted across the generations. Research Questions This study aimed to answer three research questions. 1) Are there patterned processes or mechanisms from which older/experienced traffickers teach or model these skills to the pimps2 , main sex workers3 , sex workers, or sex trafficking victims who, over time, recruit other trafficking victims? a) How do the early experiences of SMFs, particularly trauma, contribute to their social learning and recruitment into facilitation? b) Using an intersectional4 lens, how does social learning explain the social processes of sex market facilitation, passing those skills to family, boyfriends/girlfriends, friends, sex workers, sex trafficking victims, or even other SMFs? 2) How do traffickers detect potential recruits' vulnerabilities, and what are the key individual and structural vulnerabilities they target? How is grooming similar and different in New York City and Chicago? 3) How are traffickers socially networked to other traffickers, pimps, and main sex workers, and how is grooming similar and different across social networks in New York City and Chicago?

Lowell, MA: University of Masachusetts Lowell, 2024. 219p.

By Hannah Feeney, Samantha Charm, Jennifer Hardison Walters

The NHTH is a toll-free hotline that can be accessed by phone, email, online report, text, or webchat from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and in more than 200 languages.1 The NHTH processes contacts from individuals with diverse identities, including individuals of all genders, language preferences, locations, and proximity to trafficking (e.g., potential victims of trafficking, community members, law enforcement). The hotline serves multiple purposes. First and foremost, the NHTH seeks to connect individuals who are experiencing or have experienced sex or labor trafficking with resources and support through its extensive referral network. The hotline does not provide direct services to those who have experienced human trafficking but offers tailored warm handoffs or referrals to survivors, depending on their most critical needs. The NHTH also accepts tips2 and information about potential trafficking situations and will report pertinent tip information to appropriate child welfare and law enforcement agencies (1) when it is required to do so by law, (2) in situations of immediate danger, or (3) when a report is requested directly by the survivor.3 When reflecting on the ways in which the NHTH processes contacts, it is critical to note that the NHTH processes more categories of contacts than other similar national hotlines. As part of the current evaluation, RTI completed case studies on four national hotlines similar to the NHTH in scope, size, and purpose (see Evaluation Technical Background Report). The broad findings from these case studies have been used to inform considerations for future practice included in this brief. Survey results revealed that contactors were generally satisfied with their experiences with the NHTH. Survivor interview participants reflected on how Hotline Advocates consistently provided empathetic, emotionally appropriate responses to contactors. Law enforcement also underscored that the NHTH often does an excellent job providing timely, detailed tips. NHTH partners noted that the NHTH provides individuals with one number they can contact for valuable support and links to services, regardless of their location. Interviewees highlighted that this feature is particularly important for a crime when survivors may be moved to different areas or states. In addition to documenting high-quality services provided by the NHTH, this evaluation identified some opportunities for continued improvement or growth, including the following: 1. Increasing public awareness of NHTH services and scope, including broadening reach and utilization, reducing the impact of out-of-scope contactors, and setting and communicating consistent expectations 2. Increasing hotline advocacy efficiency, including routing contactors by need, streamlining and reducing data collection, continuously updating and maintaining the referral directory, and cultivating strong partnerships with local law enforcement 3. Supporting Hotline Advocates and other staff, including providing ongoing and additional training and supporting self-care

. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services., 20224. 12p.

By  Kelle Barrick, Rebecca Pfeffer, Stephen Tueller, Michael Bradshaw, Natasha Aranguren, Kyle Vincent

To advance knowledge about promising methods for estimating the prevalence of human trafficking in the United States, the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) and the Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) funded a study, conducted by RTI International, to field test two methods of prevalence estimation within one industry in one geographic location in the United States.  

This study, conducted between 2020 and 2024, measured the prevalence of labor trafficking within the construction industry in Houston, Texas, using both time-location sampling (TLS) and link-tracing sampling (LTS). TLS involves developing a sampling frame of venues, days, and times where the population of focus congregates and using a random selection procedure (e.g., every fifth person) to select a representative sample of the population. LTS is a network sampling approach that relies on study participants to recruit their peers to participate in the study. 

  Central to decisions among policymakers, funders, and researchers concerned with addressing human trafficking is the question of the size of the problem. Understandably, these groups seek evidence about the prevalence of human trafficking to guide choices around policies and interventions to prevent and address human trafficking in communities. Several empirical efforts have been established in recent years in response to this quandary, including a series of seven studies included in the Prevalence Reduction Innovation Forum (PRIF) initiative (Center on Human Trafficking Research & Outreach, n.d.), which aims to build evidence about methodologies to estimate the prevalence of human trafficking by testing various estimation methods in various industries in six other countries. In each of these seven studies, two estimation strategies are used to estimate the prevalence of human trafficking among a certain population in a certain area. This dual estimation approach offers insight about both (1) the logistics and feasibility of carrying out each estimation strategy and (2) how the prevalence estimates that they generate compare to one another. The current study was designed as a domestic counterpart to the seven international PRIF studies. Following a comprehensive review of prior human trafficking prevalence studies (see Barrick & Pfeffer, 2021) and a consideration of factors such as industries of identified interest and feasibility of estimation strategies, we chose to focus this study on the prevalence of labor trafficking within the construction industry in Houston, Texas, using both time-location sampling (TLS) and link-tracing sampling (LTS). TLS involves developing a sampling frame of venues, days, and times where the population of focus congregates and using a random selection procedure (e.g., every fifth person) to select a representative sample of the population. LTS is a network sampling approach that relies on study participants to recruit their peers to participate in the study. The objectives of the study were to advance knowledge of promising methods for estimating human trafficking prevalence and to better understand substantive issues around the experiences of construction workers with labor trafficking and other labor exploitation.

Study Findings The LTS sample did not yield a high response rate, and we only include high-level findings from this sample in this report . Even with financial incentive, workers were hesitant to refer their peers to participate in this study, and relatively few referral chains developed. Given the limited number of chains available for analysis and the potential for misleading findings, LTS sample findings are only presented to highlight differences in prevalence estimation strategies. More than one in five construction workers had experienced labor trafficking victimization in their lifetime . Among the TLS sample (n = 903), 22.3% had experienced labor trafficking in construction in their lifetime, 13.2% had experienced labor trafficking within the past 2 years, and 4.2% had experienced or were experiencing labor trafficking in their current job. An additional 42% of construction workers reported experiencing other labor abuses that did not meet the threshold of labor trafficking . Just over one third (35%) of workers had never experienced any labor trafficking or exploitation in the construction industry. Although individual characteristics were assessed as potential risk and protective factors, no significant differences emerged . Given the limited extant research focusing on risk and protective factors for experiencing labor trafficking or other labor abuse in construction, additional work is needed to substantiate the lack of significant findings regarding individual characteristics. Construction work related to natural disaster recovery and reconstruction is associated with a higher prevalence of labor trafficking and other forms of labor abuse . Construction workers who had worked in natural disaster recovery and reconstruction settings were significantly more likely than those who had not to have experienced labor trafficking or other labor abuse. Conclusions and Implications Labor trafficking and other labor abuse in the construction industry are common. About two-thirds of Houston construction workers experienced at least one form of exploitative or abusive labor practice. The types of abuse most frequently experienced by construction workers include working without a contract, deception about working and living conditions, working long and unusual hours without adequate compensation, and paying recruitment fees to get a job. However, nontrivial percentages of construction workers were subjected to more serious forms of abuse, including having their pay withheld, deception about the work they would be doing, and being subjected to emotional or psychological abuse. These findings have implications for policymakers, law enforcement, Departments of Labor and other regulatory agencies, construction unions, workers’ advocacy groups, and anyone concerned about workplace exploitation in the construction industry. Related to prevalence estimation methodologies, we confirmed that data collection and prevalence estimation strategies matter. Although both TLS and LTS are promising approaches for identifying and recruiting construction workers, only TLS proved to be effective in reaching the population. All prevalence estimation research should clearly highlight challenges that occurred during data collection that may impact the validity of the findings and exercise caution in reporting potentially misleading estimates.    

Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2024. 51p.