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.”
USF Criminology Professor and BRIGHT Project Director Shelly Wagers signs MOU agreement with HSI during event at HSI headquarters in Tampa, FL. on May 22.
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.