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Perception vs. Reality: The Relationship Between Organized Crime and Human Trafficking in Metropolitan Atlanta

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Abstract

Since the enactment of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, there has been an increase in both media and scholarly discussions of human trafficking. Although most of these discussions have framed human trafficking as a crime committed primarily by organized crime groups, there has been very little empirical research examining the link between human trafficking and organized crime. In an effort to start to address this gap in the research, we conduct an exploratory study to determine if there is a link between human trafficking and organized crime in one of the Southeast’s human trafficking hubs – Atlanta, Georgia. We collected data on 24 federal human trafficking cases that were indicted in metropolitan Atlanta between 2000 and 2013. Then, we conducted a content analysis of the court documents for each federal human trafficking case and classified the relationship between organized crime and human trafficking using one of three categories: nonexistent, organized criminal network, organized criminal syndicate. For the majority of the human trafficking cases (n = 16), we found that there was no relationship between organized crime and human trafficking. For the cases that did show a relationship between organized crime and human trafficking, we found evidence of organized criminal networks in eight of the cases and evidence of an organized criminal syndicate in only one case.

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Notes

  1. The researchers conceptualized organized crime groups as groups who are primarily focused on illegal profits and who “systematically commit crimes that adversely affect society and are capable of effectively shielding their activities, in particular by being willing to use physical violence or eliminate individuals by way of corruption” (Bruinsma & Meershoek, 1999, 114).

  2. Metropolitan Atlanta includes 28 counties identified by the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau.

  3. The Carl Skow (2011) case was the only case that we found based on a federal sting investigation that did not involve any actual victims. This case is unique in that it was based on a law enforcement sting operation in which the defendant, who is a U.S. citizen, thought that he was purchasing sexual services from an underage girl who was going to be brought from Guatemala to the U.S. We did not include this case in our analysis.

  4. We found that all 24 cases were located in counties handled by the Northern District of Georgia. For cases prosecuted within the past 10 years, we accessed the electronic public court records through PACER. PACER is an electronic version of the public record system that can be accessed via any computer. For cases prosecuted more than 10 years ago, we accessed the paper public court records at the Clerk’s Office. The only difference between PACER and the system at the Clerk’s Office is that PACER charges a fee for each search made and document viewed based upon the number of pages in each search and/or document.

  5. Recall that sex trafficking involving minors does not require the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Instead, enticing a person under the age of 18 to engage in prostitution is a form of sex trafficking.

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  1. Kennesaw State University, 402 Bartow Avenue MD #2204, Kennesaw, GA, 30144, USA

    Tara M. Tripp & Jennifer McMahon-Howard

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  1. Tara M. Tripp
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  2. Jennifer McMahon-Howard
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Correspondence to Jennifer McMahon-Howard.

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Tripp, T.M., McMahon-Howard, J. Perception vs. Reality: The Relationship Between Organized Crime and Human Trafficking in Metropolitan Atlanta. Am J Crim Just 41, 732–764 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-015-9315-5

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