Suffolk County Anti-Trafficking Initiative
ABOUT
Suffolk County Police Department
The mission of the Suffolk County Police Department is to provide and maintain a safe environment for every person in Suffolk County regardless of that person’s residency or immigration status. If individuals believe that they cannot come forward to report a crime or that they cannot freely cooperate with law enforcement because of their immigration status, the mission of the Police Department and the safety of all residents are compromised.
The Department recognizes that the ability of the police to perform their task is dependent upon public approval of their existence, actions, behavior, and on the ability of the police to secure and maintain public respect.
Every member of the Service acknowledges his or her obligation to treat all persons with dignity and respect; to provide professional services by rendering aid to those in need; to provide an environment free from fear, bringing to justice those who violate the law, and protect all person and property in accordance with legal and ethical standards.
Empowerment Collaborative of Long Island
Empowerment Collaborative of Long Island, Inc. (ECLI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit human service agency founded in 2015 as a response to the lack of trauma informed services in Suffolk County, NY. Modern scientific and psychological research has shown that the impact of trauma has a dramatic and negative impact on the development and outcomes of families and individuals who have encountered traumas such as experiencing or witnessing domestic violence, community/gang violence, poverty, oppression, incarceration, sexual assault, human trafficking or growing up in families that suffered from homelessness, substance abuse and/or severe mental health issues.
By providing inclusive, culturally appropriate and accessible trauma focused services to children, youth, and adults (male or female), who have experienced one or more traumas throughout their lifetime, ECLI seeks to break the cycles which have prevented these individuals and our community as a whole from thriving.
ECLI provides crisis intervention, advocacy, and transition to independence by engaging the whole person and the complexity of their experiences which aids in building a community of support to foster healing and lasting change.
Phone: 631-913-8655
Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office
The employees of the Sheriff’s Office, County of Suffolk, N.Y. are dedicated to providing the highest quality services in order to improve community safety, protect life and property, reduce crime, reduce the fear of crime in Suffolk County, and maintain safe, secure, and orderly correctional and detention facilities ensuring proper care, custody, treatment, supervision, and discipline for all persons committed to the custody of the Sheriff. In order to accomplish this, the Sheriff’s Office and its individual employees, both sworn and civilian, pledge to develop a partnership with the community, lead a community commitment to resolve problems and strive to improve the safety and quality of life in Suffolk County by utilizing community-oriented policing. Providing this service to the public shall be conducted in an efficient and effective manner, consistent with legal authority, available budgeted resources, and professional skills.
In 2018 the Sheriff’s Anti – Trafficking Initiative began their pursuit of the most comprehensive and effective response to the crime of human trafficking from the correctional standpoint. The principle objectives are to ensure that all victims of human trafficking who pass through our facility are identified, have access to the services they need to recover and are supported throughout their long-term journey as survivors. In addition to utilizing a victim centered approach, we combat human trafficking by working with federal, state and other local law enforcement agencies. By information sharing and assisting with cases and prosecutions where we can, offenders will be held accountable.
Phone: 631-852-2200
https://www.suffolkcountysheriffsoffice.com
Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office
Under the leadership of District Attorney Timothy D. Sini, the Office works on behalf of the residents of Suffolk County to investigate and prosecute violations of state and local criminal statutes that occur within our County. The District Attorney’s Office comprises more than 300 prosecutors, investigators and support staff who work tirelessly to serve justice, to protect victims, and to ensure safety for all Suffolk County residents.
In July 2018, District Attorney Sini joined the Suffolk County Police Department and FBI to announce the launch of Long Island’s first Human Trafficking Investigation Unit, a collaborative, multi-agency effort to investigate and prosecute human traffickers. The Unit includes prosecutors assigned to the Human Trafficking Team, which is a part of the Enhanced Prosecution Bureau. These prosecutors employ a multi-faceted approach to combating human trafficking,
Victims of human trafficking who are charged in connection with their abuser’s scheme, such as victims arrested for prostitution, are diverted from regular prosecution into a dedicated Human Trafficking Court in Central Islip. The Human Trafficking Court diversion program offers victims counseling, drug treatment, and job training. Upon successful completion of the program, charges against victims may be dismissed.
Phone: 631-853-4161
https://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/da/
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Today’s FBI is an intelligence-driven and threat focused national security organization with both intelligence and law enforcement responsibilities that is staffed by a dedicated cadre of more than 30,000 agents, analysts, and other professionals who work around the clock and across the globe to protect the U.S. from terrorism, espionage, cyber attacks, and major criminal threats, and to provide its many partners with services, support, training, and leadership.
Suffolk County Department of Probation
We the staff of the Suffolk County Probation Department acknowledge that we serve in a dual role of community protection and client assistance. Our protective role entails community supervision of offenders and investigation of offenders prior to sentencing by the Court. In our client assistance role, we provide services to deal with family and community disputes.
In our community supervision role, we monitor offenders while attempting to integrate them into a law-abiding society. We aid offenders (juvenile and adult) in identifying and resolving the problems contributing to their anti-social behavior. In this role, we provide a cost-effective alternative to jail.
Our investigative role requires assessment of each case in a fair, objective manner in order to arrive at an appropriate dispositional recommendation. In order to accomplish this, we take into consideration the harm done to the community at large and the victim in particular and the circumstances of the individual facing sentencing by the Court.
Phone: 631-852-5000
https://suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/Probation
Department of Homeland Security
HSI as an agency is first and foremost about the people it is here to protect and serve, therefore identifying and assisting victims is paramount. As a result, HSI employs a victim-centered approach, where equal value is placed on the identification, rescue, and stabilization of victims, as well as the investigation and prosecution of traffickers.
HSI has dedicated human trafficking investigative groups in each of the Special Agent in Charge field offices with subject matter experts in outlying offices as well. Our Special Agents proactively identify cross-border criminal trafficking organizations and prioritize investigations to minimize the risk they posed to national security and public safety.
An integral part of the HSI effort are the Victim Assistance Specialists. They ensure victims have access to the rights and services to which they are entitled by law, as well as the assistance they need so that they can participate actively and fully in the criminal justice system process. Additionally, Forensic Interview Specialists conduct victim-centered and legally defensible forensic interviews.
Also within HSI but serving the entire law enforcement community, the Parole and Law Enforcement Programs Unit manages all requests from law enforcement for Continued Presence, ensuring that foreign nationals identified as victims of human trafficking who are potential witnesses can remain lawfully in the United States and be authorized to work.
Phone: 866-347-2423
https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign
Suffolk County Safe Harbour
Safe Harbour, located within the Suffolk County Child Advocacy Center, protects and cares for youth who have been trafficked or sexually exploited as well as youth demonstrating potential risk-factors, in Suffolk County, NY. This program provides Case Management and Community-Based Services, including: immediate crisis intervention, community visits, safety and service planning, medical and mental health assessments, outreach, advocacy, and referrals for additional services and residential placements.
Phone: (631) 439-0480
https://eac-network.org/safe-harbour
Axis Church
Axis church is empowered to be a compassion driven ministry that will impact and affect other churches, neighbors and Long Island all together. A focus on the homeless, children with special needs, the foster care system & soldiers with PTSD, are just a few of the areas that have connected us to those who need Christ. Our family friendly environment has created an atmosphere where it’s easy to see, Jesus is the center of everything we do. At Axis Church we believe everyone has a place. Serving the Lord in any of our ministries, both in the church or out in the community, is our way of fulfilling Romans 12:1-2 (..living sacrifices). From greeting at our front doors or hitting the streets for homeless care ministries, serving is what we are all about.
Phone: 631-732-7682
Law Office of Lois Rowman
The Law Office of Lois Rowman works collaboratively with the Empowerment Collaborative of Long Island (ECLI) and the Suffolk County Anti-Trafficking Initiative (SCATI) to develop and implement victim-centered, trauma informed, collaborative and sustainable approaches to identify and address the needs of victims of human trafficking, and to engage in proactive victim-centered investigations and prosecutions of labor and sex trafficking. Lois assists in screening and assessing clients to determine the type of legal assistance needed, explains their legal rights and protections, and advocates and assists the clients on matters that arise as a result of human trafficking victimization.
Phone: 631 240-4952
Email: Lois@lorowlaw.com
Dr. Colby Valentine
Dr. Colby Valentine (Visiting Instructor of Criminology, University of South Florida) is associated with the Long Island Applied Research Center (LI-ARC), which is the research partner on the SCATI grant. Dr. Valentine helps participating agencies collect and summarize data on victim services, prosecutions, victim demographics, traffickers demographics, community trainings, and collaborations across agencies. LI-ARC is an interdisciplinary network of faculty and students from various universities helping conduct research within and for community agencies. email:
Email: colbyvalentine@usf.edu