Hope for Justice is working in partnership with the state of Iowa’s largest law enforcement agency, regularly sharing intelligence to help more victims rediscover their freedom, and ultimately put an end to human trafficking.
We are collaborating with the Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS), which includes six law enforcement divisions and several bureaus.
Together, we will tackle large-scale human trafficking rings operating across and outside of the state, as well as individual cases. Our team in Iowa is also set to provide specialist training to police officers on the possible signs of human trafficking, as well as how to investigate the crime.
The partnership is already gaining ground, after our team shared information on a sex trafficking operation across the state at the end of last year.
We are continuing to work collaboratively to gather evidence, identify and rescue victims, and hold their traffickers to account. We will share updates on this investigation here and on our social media channels, as soon as possible.
David Gonzalez, Senior Investigator at Hope for Justice, said: “We are delighted to be joining forces with Iowa Department of Public Safety in our efforts to end human trafficking. We believe that this partnership will have an enormous and lasting impact, allowing us to work side by side to find and rescue more victims and enable them to rebuild their lives.
“Together with Iowa DPS, we will send out a message to human traffickers; we will not tolerate exploitation. We will seek it out, stamp it out, and make traffickers accountable for benefitting from the fear and misery of the most vulnerable.”
Amy Veon, Criminal Intelligence Analyst at Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Division of Intelligence and Fusion Center, said: “Partnering with Hope for Justice will allow us to help more law enforcement agencies identify traffickers and help those who need it the most.”
