Template revised April 12, 2018.

COMMISSION

AGENDA MEMORANDUM

Item No.

BRIEFING ITEM

Date of Meeting

January 22, 2019

DATE: January 10, 2019

TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director

FROM: Eric Schinfeld, Sr. Manager, Federal & International Government Relations

Chad Aldridge, Veterans Fellow, Policy and Outreach Manager

SUBJECT: One-year progress report on port-wide Human Trafficking Strategy implementation

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On January 9, 2018, the Port of Seattle Commission passed a motion directing staff to finalize

and implement a Port-wide strategy to combat human trafficking. By taking that step, the

Commission increased our organization’s leadership role on this important topic, for which we

not only have a moral obligation to protect residents and visitors but also a tangible role

because of our status as both a large employer and as the manager of significant trade and

travel facilities.

We have implemented or are implementing almost all aspects of the strategy – from the

successful creation of an internal policy to ensure all Port employees understand our

commitment to this vital equity and social justice issue, to the development of employee

training through a contract with Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking. We have also

developed key partnerships with other public and private sector leaders that are allowing us to

maximize public awareness of human trafficking in our region – including the January 17, 2019,

launch of a regional human trafficking awareness campaign.

January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and so it is appropriate to use the

January 22 Commission meeting to both update Commissioners on our progress and successes,

as well as use the public meeting as another platform to raise public awareness.

DETAILS

The Port’s human trafficking strategy has four main focus areas:

1) Training – Ensuring that all employees have access to the proper training and education

to understand both what human trafficking is and its impacts on our communities.

2) Communications – Using port facilities and communications channels to raise public

awareness of human trafficking and provide information to stop trafficking at our

facilities.

3) Policies and Protocols – Ensuring that Port policies prohibit engagement in human

trafficking, and provide clear procedures for employees to follow to report suspicion of

human trafficking and violations of these policies.

COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. Page 2 of 4

Meeting Date: January 22, 2019

Template revised September 22, 2016.

4) Partnerships – Leveraging relationships to reduce duplication and to maximize the

impact of our efforts, including collaborating with nonprofits; local, state and federal

agencies; and key customers and vendors.

The following are key updates on each of these four focus areas:

Strategy

Status

Specific Accomplishments

Next Steps

Training

In Progress

 The Port has held three

trainings for Port employees

(including one specifically for

Port police), reaching over

200 employees

 The Port has contracted with

Businesses Ending Slavery &

Trafficking (BEST) to develop

and conduct trainings for our

employees and to create a

strategy to extend these

training opportunities to

others who work at our

facilities

 The Port Police Department

has developed and is

implementing a separate

curriculum for all officers.

 BEST will continue

implementing their

training strategy in

collaboration with

the Port.

 The Port Police will

continue

implementing their

training plan.

Public Awareness

In Progress

 In 2018, the Port held a press

conference on this topic, and

posted signage at Sea-Tac

throughout January Human

Trafficking Awareness Month.

 In addition, last year we

posted signage on airport

bathroom stalls sharing that

the Port Police are a resource

in both sexual assault and

human trafficking incidents.

 On January 17, 2019, we

launched a regional human

trafficking awareness

campaign – including signage

throughout Port facilities – in

partnership with the City of

 Continue to

expand the

number of public

and private sector

partners

participating in

the regional

public awareness

campaign.

COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. Page 3 of 4

Meeting Date: January 22, 2019

Template revised September 22, 2016.

Seattle, King County, Sound

Transit and a number of other

public and private sector

partners.

Policies &

Protocols

Completed

 The Port has finalized an

Executive Policy that outlines

Port restrictions on trafficking

activity, which will be shared

as part of the training

curriculum.

 The Port is

participating in

the U.S.

Department of

Transportation’s

Advisory

Committee on

Human

Trafficking’s

Protocols &

Policies

Subcommittee,

which is working

on a national

recommendation

by July 2019.

Partnerships

Yes

 In addition to the

partnerships developed

through the regional

awareness campaign, the Port

has joined

 Businesses Against Slavery

and Trafficking’s Employer

Alliance

 King County Commercially

Sexually Exploited

Children Task Force

 Washington Advisory

Committee on Trafficking

 The USDOT Advisory

Committee on Human

Trafficking Protocols &

Policies Subcommittee

 The Port hosted the 2018

Statewide Commercially

Sexually Exploited Children’s

Task Force Conference at the

 Continue to build

partnerships for

the regional

human trafficking

campaign.

 Continue to build

partnerships with

Port vendors,

contractors and

tenants to offer

training to those

who work at or

near Port

facilities.

 Continue to share

best practices

with ports across

the country.

 Expand Port

activities to the

Northwest

COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. Page 4 of 4

Meeting Date: January 22, 2019

Template revised September 22, 2016.

Sea-Tac Conference Center in

October 2018.

 The Port is working with the

American Association of Port

Authorities to share human

trafficking best practices with

other ports.

Seaport Alliance.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND

Although slavery is commonly thought to be a thing of the past, each year millions of men,

women, and children are trafficked in countries around the world, including the United States.

Traffickers use violence, threats, deception, debt bondage, and other manipulative tactics to

force people to engage in commercial sex or to provide labor or services against their will. It is

estimated that human trafficking generates billions of dollars of profit per year – second only to

drug trafficking as the most profitable form of transnational crime.

Here in Washington state, we are not immune from the problem. Washington had the 12th

highest call volume to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in 2017. In King County, an

estimated 300-500 children are prostituted annually, some are as young as 11 years old; there

are over 100 websites for soliciting sex in the Seattle area, many of which are used for human

trafficking purposes.

As both the operator of an airport and an owner of a wide array of maritime facilities, we can

help reduce the probability that our properties will be used as a transit point for traffickers and

their victims. As a major employer, we can save lives by educating our staff on the damaging

effect that exploitation and trafficking have on individual lives and families, and how it

undermines our commitment to equity and social justice. As a public sector leader, we can

collaborate with other jurisdictions, customers, vendors and partners to raise awareness of this

important issue.

ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING

(1) Presentation slides

(2) Human Trafficking Motion 2018-01

(3) Port Human Trafficking Strategy executive summary

PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS

 January 9, 2018 – The Commission passed a motion directing staff to finalize and

implement the Port’s human trafficking strategy.

 July 24, 2018 – The Commission heard a six-month update on strategy

implementation, and extended key motion deadlines to December 31, 2019.