By Matthew Cimitile, University Communications and Marketing

A new partnership between the primary federal law enforcement agency combatting human
trafficking and the University of South Florida aims to strengthen victim-centered
response efforts within the state.

On May 22, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa and Miami field offices signed
a Memorandum of Understanding with USF’s Trafficking in Persons Risk to Resilience (TIP) Lab to adopt a victim response framework successfully used by USF researchers and local
and state partners in recent years. The enhanced efforts among federal, state and
local partners involved in human trafficking survivor support, service coordination
and research will benefit victims and improve long-term trafficking response outcomes.

Central to the partnership is the lab’s Bridging Resources and Information Gaps in
Human Trafficking (BRIGHT) Project, directed by USF Criminology Professor Shelly Wagers
and supported by technology partner Pinkston Rose Rustand (The PRR Group). Working
together, they engineered a victim service connector technology now being expanded
through the HSI partnership to strengthen victim response and coordination efforts.

BRIGHT helps victims of human trafficking by rapidly connecting them with organizations
and resources in their community. It allows professionals in anti-trafficking organizations
to track, coordinate and provide services such as health care and safe housing to
survivors. Law enforcement, non-profit organizations and social workers can access
the technology as they seek to assist victims of labor and sex trafficking.

HSI special agents and victim assistance specialists will use an expansion of the
tool that addresses law enforcement needs. The collaboration reflects HSI’s victim-centered
approach to trafficking investigations, which places a high value on identifying,
recovering and stabilizing victims. 

“HSI’s commitment to a victim-centered approach is at the heart of our human trafficking
investigations,” said HSI Tampa acting Special Agent in Charge Micah McCombs. “By
partnering with the University of South Florida and leveraging innovative tools like
BRIGHT, we are not only strengthening our ability to identify, recover and support
survivors of human trafficking, but multiplying our impact through enhanced collaboration
with federal, state and local partners. This is truly a force multiplier.”

HSI is a leader in the fight against human trafficking, and accounts for nearly 50
percent of all human trafficking investigations and prosecutions annually.  

Between October 2020 and October 2023, HSI’s Victim Assistance Program assisted 3,715
victims, including 2,044 minors who were victims of varying levels of human trafficking
and exploitation. Employing a victim-centered approach places equal value on identifying,
recovering, and stabilizing victims while investigating and helping prosecute their
traffickers.

“HSI recognizes that combating trafficking and supporting survivors requires partners
in all areas of the anti-trafficking community, especially in academia,” said HSI
Miami acting Special Agent in Charge Jose R. Figueroa. “This partnership has already
produced evidence-based research that will inform how HSI can more effectively deploy
our limited personnel to stabilize victims and ensure traffickers are held accountable.
Together, we are advancing our mission to dismantle trafficking networks and strengthen
long-term outcomes for victims across Florida.”

The agreement is intended to help develop and evaluate a scalable response model that
could inform future anti-trafficking efforts beyond Florida. USF researchers also
hope the partnership will generate long-term evidence on which trafficking response
and victim stabilization strategies are most effective.

“What makes this partnership unique is that it brings together survivors, service
providers, federal partners, university researchers and operational technology into
one coordinated response effort,” Wagers said. “Our hope is that this work helps build
more connected systems that reduce the burden victims and survivors often face while
navigating recovery and support during some of the most vulnerable moments of their
lives.”

Currently, when law enforcement officials encounter trafficking victims, it can be
unclear what people or resources are available to provide help. It may take multiple
attempts to remove trafficking victims from their situation, so connecting them with
the right people and resources at the right time is key.

Using this coordinated response model, the partnership is expected to improve identification
of missing youth, strengthen coordination between agencies and service providers,
and help researchers better understand which approaches are most effective to supporting
survivors immediately and for long-term recovery. 

“By partnering with the University of South Florida and leveraging innovative tools
like BRIGHT, we are not only strengthening our ability to identify, recover and support
survivors of human trafficking, but multiplying our impact through enhanced collaboration
with federal, state and local partners.”

Micah McCombs, HSI Tampa acting Special Agent in Charge

Since its launch in 2024, the BRIGHT Project has been used by 145 anti-trafficking
organizations, service providers and law enforcement entities in the state, including
the Florida Department of Children and Families, Florida Office of the Attorney General,
Crisis Center of Tampa Bay and more. It has connected around 100 victims to vital
resources.

Bright is a project of the USF TIP Lab, which has received federal and state support
to build and enhance anti-trafficking tools and knowledge. It has become a vital research
center in the state’s fight against human trafficking. 

“Our hope is that we build more connected, informed and victim-centered responses
both in Florida and nationally, which partnerships like this will allow us to do,”
said Joan Reid, a USF criminology professor and director of the TIP Lab.