politics
NYPD Steps Up Anti-Trafficking Operations Ahead of World Cup
Police will increase patrols at transportation hubs and known commercial-sex locations during the tournament. Officials are training hospitality and hospital staff to spot victims and have expanded coordination with prosecutors and service providers.
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The NYPD will increase enforcement against prostitution and sex trafficking during the World Cup, officials told The Post this week. Teams plan to focus on bus terminals, train hubs, Penn Track in East New York, Brooklyn, and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona and Jackson Heights, Queens. Officers will also conduct cyber monitoring of suspected activity.
The department has briefed hospitality-industry workers and hospital staff on common indicators of trafficking. Those indicators include clothing inappropriate for the weather, untreated injuries, and victims who look to another person before answering basic questions.
Kathleen Baer, the NYPD’s assistant commissioner for Gender-Based Violence Policy and Planning, said the department is coordinating with local aid groups and prosecutors to ensure victims receive support and cases can be built against traffickers. Documents are often taken and victims frequently lack money or independent means of support.
The department operates a human-trafficking hotline at 646-610-7272. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS or 1-888-57-PISTA for Spanish speakers.
