New Advanced Training Course Helps TABC Agents Rescue Human Trafficking Victims

A group of TABC agents has become the first class to complete a new intensive training course created by the agency to better prepare law enforcement to uncover and combat human trafficking.

Created and launched by TABC’s Training Division, this three-week course was conducted on the sprawling grounds of Texas A&M University’s state-of-the-art RELLIS Campus in Bryan.

Agents learned in the classroom and through real-world training about topics ranging from laws and policy to interviewing trafficking victims. The classroom training included presentations from survivors of human trafficking, who gave valuable information to help agents understand their perspective.

Each agent was then tested on what they learned through real-world scenarios, conducting a full mock investigation where they identified, rescued and interviewed survivors.

Up next for the course: TABC plans to share it with other law enforcement agencies across Texas.

Human trafficking is a crime where a person uses force, fraud or coercion to lure victims and exploit them into performing labor or commercial sex work. A University of Texas study conducted in 2016 estimates that there are more than 300,000 victims of human trafficking in Texas, including 79,000 young victims of sex trafficking.

Learn more about what TABC is doing to stop this crime and protect Texans on our Human Trafficking page.

If you’re interested in obtaining video footage from the training, contact our Public Information Officer at media@tabc.texas.gov.