Southern Indiana police working with truckers in effort to raise awareness of human trafficking

MEMPHIS, Ind. (WDRB) -- Indiana State Police is teaming up with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance this week to raise awareness about human trafficking, focusing on the trucking industry as part of a nationwide initiative.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, an estimated 27 million people worldwide are victims of human trafficking. Law enforcement officials said the crime is happening closer to home than many people realize, including along Indiana's interstates and at truck stops.

During the annual Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative, officers are speaking with commercial motor vehicle drivers during roadside inspections, educating them on how to recognize potential signs of trafficking and how to report suspicious activity.

"Our brothers and sisters in trucking — we look out for each other," said Lydedrick Fleming, a long-haul truck driver who travels roughly 200,000 miles a year, including frequent routes through Indiana.

Fleming said truck drivers often communicate through industry platforms to share alerts and safety concerns, making them well-positioned to spot situations that may go unnoticed by others.

"It's a very serious issue that we take very seriously," Fleming said. "We have various trucker platforms where we communicate with each other to make each other aware of certain situations, like Amber Alerts and things of that nature."

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance reports more than 40% of human trafficking cases reported by truck drivers involve minor victims. Troopers said drivers are trained to watch for red flags, such as individuals being confined inside vehicles or appearing controlled by someone else.

"If you pull up to a rest area or a truck stop and you see someone in the cab and they lock them in — they will leave the woman in there and lock them in," said trucker Peter Ranzani.

ISP said truck drivers often see things that law enforcement and the general public may not.

"They want to be those eyes and ears out there," Trooper Carey Huls said Monday. "They know they'll probably see something that law enforcement can't and that the general public may not, and they're very receptive to it."

State police emphasized trafficking is not limited to large cities or interstate corridors.

"It is a real thing and it is literally everywhere — not just near the interstates, not just in the cities," Huls said.

Since the initiative began, nearly 2.5 million truck drivers across North America have been trained to recognize and report signs of human trafficking.

"That is the name of the game — keep each other safe and keep each other informed," Fleming said.

The human trafficking awareness initiative will continue across the United States for the next week before expanding to Canada in February and Mexico in March.

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