Human Trafficking

In March 2017, Sheriff Bill Waybourn formed a new Human Trafficking Unit in the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office.   The unit, comprised of a supervisor and three investigators, has been charged primarily with investigating human trafficking cases throughout Tarrant County.

Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings and usually begins when one person exercises control of another person, through violence, deception or coercion, for the purposes of commercial sex, forced labor or domestic servitude.  It is described as a modern-day form of slavery.

A recent study conducted by the Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (IDVSA) at The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work, estimated that there are more than 300,000 victims of human trafficking in Texas, including 79,000 minors and youth victims of sex trafficking and nearly 234,000 adult victims of labor trafficking.  

Working in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies and social service providers, the unit is committed to rescuing victims of human trafficking and conducting investigations that lead to the prosecution of human traffickers.    

If you are a victim or know of someone who may be a victim of human trafficking, please contact the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office Human Trafficking Unit by phone at 817-321-5920 or by email at HumanTrafficking@tarrantcountytx.gov.

You can also contact:

Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County: 817-469-TIPS (8477)

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline: 1-888-373-7888

To learn more about Human Trafficking, visit the Department of Homeland Security website: https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign