Hotel employees have been asked by the Department of Homeland Security to keep a look out for guests who use several condoms during their stay — just one of dozens of indicators that suggests human trafficking is afoot, the agency said in a new campaign.
Through its “Safe Action Project,” the DHS will train hotel and hospitality staff to spot clues that are commonly left on the scene after someone has sex for money.
Among the red flags listed on a 7-page bulletin of warning signs released by DHS recent is excessive foot traffic, overly smelly rooms, guests with suspicious tattoos and “garbage cans containing many used condoms.”
Other indicators include constant usage of “Do Not Disturb” signage, the presence of multiple electronics and guests who avert their eyes when approached by hotel staff.
“That is kind of our message. We would rather have you call anybody and report it to somebody, even if it turns out to be nothing, than miss one of those victims that’s suffering,” an investigator with the agency told Colorado’s 9NEWS this week.
“Keeping an eye open for trafficking and knowing the signs — half the battle is knowing what to look for,” added “Amber,” a 20-year-old sex-trafficking survivor.
Indeed, an inspector general audit released earlier this month concluded that two sub-agencies of DHS — namely U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) — have failed to keep reliable records with regards to sex trafficking in recent years, in turn giving investigators nowhere near enough data to properly assess the extent of the problem.
“For example, ICE had to extensively manipulate its case management system to provide reasonably reliable data for matching purposes. USCIS did not always collect names and other identifiers of human traffickers that victims provided in their visa applications. Further, USCIS employees did not routinely share with ICE the data they collected on potential human traffickers,” the audit found.
“Without concerted DHS efforts to collect and share information, the risk exists that some human traffickers may remain unidentified and free to abuse other individuals,” the inspector general’s report concluded.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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