ITE Journal - June 2021 - 40

INDUSTRY UPDATE

The Contribution of State and Local DOTs to

Disrupting Human Trafficking
By John Habermann, P.E. (M), Elizabeth Suárez, Christi Wigle,
Steven Jones, Ph.D., Silvana V. Croope, Ph.D., ENV SP, Ron Hall,
Margo Hill, and Chris Baglin, JD, MPH

T

he transportation engineering profession is devoted to providing a transportation
system that is safe and secure for all users. The system, however, is often abused
by those seeking to maximize their own gain-whether through operating
grossly overweight trucks to increase shipping profits or to engage in illicit

activities such as human trafficking. The Polaris Project, an international organization devoted
to combatting human trafficking, identifies the transportation industry as one of the most
important components of the human trafficking enterprise.1 Data from the IBM Traffic Analysis
Hub indicate that of the 3,019 trafficking events recorded in the United States from March 2020
to February 2021, almost 2,400 involved a form of surface transportation (i.e., car, truck, or bus),

Shutterstock/eldar nurkovic

with the remaining involving air travel or seaports and waterways.2

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J u ne 2021

i te j o urnal
ITE Journal - June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ITE Journal - June 2021
