Demanding Reduction: A County-level Analysis Examining Structural Determinants of Human Trafficking Arrests in Florida

Abstract

Academic literature has placed increased focus on understanding the complexities of human trafficking cases, but a gap in literature persists on assessing structural determinants that may impact the number of identified human trafficking arrests. As such, using administrative data on human trafficking arrests from 2013 to 2017, in the present study we examine the influence that macro-level social disorganization indicators, physical characteristics, and criminality rates have on human trafficking arrests in the state of Florida. Results reveal that counties with a higher number of human trafficking arrests were associated with higher levels of residential instability, a greater count of police agencies, as well as, lower levels of concentrated disadvantage and drug arrest rates. We close with directions for future research and anti-trafficking policy recommendations.

Keywords

human trafficking Florida contextual factors arrests

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