A bipartisan coalition of 41 state and territory Attorneys General, represented by the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), has urged Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert Kennedy to ensure better cooperation with local law enforcement from the next operator of the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
Since 2007, Polaris has operated the Hotline with millions of dollars in funding authorized by Congress. States rely on the Hotline to forward third-party tips of suspected human trafficking to local law enforcement to arrest traffickers, safely recover victims, and uncover evidence of trafficking rings and operations. It was recently discovered that Polaris was failing to forward third-party tips about adult victims to state law enforcement except in limited circumstances. Additionally, states have often discovered a delay of even several months before the Hotline shared those tips with states.
