Page 17 - 2021 TAT Annual Report

Coalition Build connections extend TAT’s reach
Agent Bobbi Jo Pazdernik, Predatory Crimes Section, Minnesota Human Trafficking Investigators Task Force (MNHITF), Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, provided her state’s human trafficking data at the Minnesota Coalition Build.
TAT’s Coalition Builds (CB) are a critical tool for bringing together diverse partners across the United States and Canada to build networks and collaboration to close loopholes to traffick- ers. They serve as catalysts for public-private partnerships at the local and state levels, where they generate new partnerships within industry and law enforcement, which are then able to extend the human trafficking awareness and training they gain more deeply into their communities. Existing partners often decide to go beyond simply training their own companies and leverage their networks and leadership position to bring more industry stake- holders to the table, with the goal of assisting law enforcement in a particular area. Additionally, other TAT champions try out new program models with TAT that meet niche industry intersections and potential victims.
In 2021, seven CBs drew 637 industry representatives, law enforcement and government agencies in Reno, Nevada, McPherson, Kansas, Bemidji, Minnesota, Atlantic City, New Jersey, Boise, Idaho, Bloomington, Illinois and Shreveport, Louisiana. Cohost and partner agencies for these events included four Attorney’s General offices, five industry associations, one energy company, and six local and state law enforcement agencies.
Results of the CB in Bemidji were particularly noteworthy.
The CB brought together 63 representatives from law enforcement, trucking, government agencies, energy industry representatives and NGOs. Following the event, several companies trained employees with TAT’s Empower Freedom video, another made the Empower Freedom training a continuous component of their employee training and one company became a TAT sponsor. Acting upon specific requests from attendees, Empower Freedom created Toolbox Talks with input from industry partners (see pages 24-25 for more information). And
65 Precision Pipeline employees toured the Empower Freedom exhibit at the home office following the CB.
One CB Bemidji attendee, said, “We need to continue to get the message out. [Anti-] trafficking training is new to me, and I’ve only heard about it for about a year now. It will take time to build the culture shift at the pipeline.”
“This partnership between truckers and law enforcement works,” declared Agent Bobbi Jo Pazdernik, Predatory Crimes Section, Minnesota Human Trafficking Investigators Task Force (MNHITF), Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. “Truckers
TRUCKERS AGAINST TRAFFICKING 2021 ANNUAL REPORT
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