Human Trafficking and the 2012 Super Bowl

Go to the Human Trafficking Overview.

On Feb. 5, 2012, Indianapolis, Ind., will host Super Bowl XLVI, an event that brings hundreds of thousands of people from across the country to a single destination to enjoy the football game and other amenities the city has to offer. In addition to the positives, law enforcement officials are aware that events like the Super Bowl also may draw an increase in criminal activity. Included in these concerns is prostitution and a potential influx of trafficked victims.

This concern has prompted the Indiana General Assembly to take a closer look at the state's current human trafficking laws to see if and how they can be improved. Senator Randy Head introduced Indiana Senate Bill 4 (2012) with the intent to toughen trafficking laws and deter those who might have intended to perpetrate these acts at the Super Bowl. On Jan. 30, 2012, Governor Mitch Daniels signed the bill into law.

• Summary of Senate Bill 4 (2012):  Provides that recruiting, harboring, or transporting another person to participate in sexual conduct by force, threat of force, or fraud constitutes human trafficking. A person who recruits, harbors, or transports a child less than 16 years of age with the intent of engaging the child in forced labor, involuntary servitude, prostitution, or sexual conduct commits promotion of human trafficking of a minor, commits a Class B felony.
   
• Resources for SB 4:   
  
  --  Senate Committee on Corrections, Criminal and Civil Matters Passed Report
  
  --  Fiscal Impact Statement

In 2011, 20 states enacted 41 bills or legislative actions dealing with human trafficking.

For information on pending 2012 legislation, see The Polaris Project.
 

Updated January 30, 2012