SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — The Illinois State Police were at the State Capitol this week to help combat human trafficking.

Director Brendan Kelly, along with stakeholders representing survivors, law enforcement and support service providers, appeared before the Senate Criminal Law Committee today to speak about Senate Bill 2323. The bill includes development of a strategic plan to improve the victim-centered, trauma-informed law enforcement response to people who have been trafficked. Plus, it develops standards for detecting, investigating and responding to human trafficking.

To combat the issue, State Police said its Trafficking Enforcment Bureau, conducted seven operations in the last year, resulting in 31 arrests and 90 criminal charges. Bloomington, Danville and Effingham were just a few of the cities where the operations were carried out.

“There’s a long list of requirements that ISP is undertaking just for us as an agency in addition to other agencies are going to be responsible for,” Kelly said before the Criminal Law Committee. “But we’ll be serving as a hub for creation of multi-disciplinary human trafficking task forces where non currently exist we’re going to facilitate cooperation between those task forces regular scheduled trainings.”

The Trafficking Enforcement Bureau was formed in 2022 and since then, more than 1,200 State Police officers have been trained on human trafficking awareness. More than 130 officers were trained in advanced investigative techniques.

People can learn more about how to recognize human trafficking by clicking here. If someone suspects human trafficking, they can contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733. People can also email the Illinois State Police at ISP.CrimeTips@illinois.gov. ​