Human trafficking is a crime in which force, fraud, or coercion is used to compel a person to perform labor, services or commercial sex. Sadly, there can be an uptick in this practice in areas where large events take place. Any influx of people from all over the world—including the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics, and various other sporting events—requires hiring hundreds of temporary workers for building and staffing events. The increased labor opportunity can open the door for human trafficking.
According to data compiled by the Institute for Sport and Social Justice's "Shut Out Trafficking" program, there's consistently a spike in reported incidents in the U.S. around January and February (when the Super Bowl occurs). In January 2019, there were approximately 450 reported incidents, with a jump to about 540 in February. It dropped down to 140 incidents in March 2019.
The U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking reported that the 2020 Super Bowl in Miami saw a 163% increase in human trafficking reports to the national hotline over the course of the event. The good news is that 47 traffickers were arrested, and 22 victims were found and assisted. The 2021 Super Bowl in Tampa saw 146 arrests made, six victims recovered, and 18 missing children identified. Now, human trafficking is a focus of the upcoming Super Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada.
With increased demand for manual labor, sex for hire and other services around major sporting events, the Super Bowl should put financial institutions on high alert. Aristides Jimenez, retired Deputy Agent in Charge at DHS, reported that “stables,” groups of trafficked victims who are under the control of a single pimp, travel from all major cities to the host site due to the demand being so high. And while the word "trafficking" implies that victims are being transported from a great distance, some are "stabled" close by in their own neighborhoods, or even enslaved by family members.
FinCEN has issued an updated advisory on identifying and reporting human trafficking, supplementing its 2014 guidance. Together with law enforcement, FinCEN has identified these financial and behavioral red flags of human trafficking.