Westchester Legislators Commend County’s Anti-Trafficking Task Force on Successful 1st Year

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White Plains, NY –Three members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL)—Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers), Majority Leader Pete Harckham (D-Katonah) and Legislator Alfreda Williams (D-Greenburgh), who chairs the BOL’s Community Services Committee—were on hand today to commend and congratulate and the Westchester County Anti-Trafficking Task Force on its successful first full year of operation at a press conference held in the offices of My Sisters’ Place, an organization that provides advocacy and services for victims of domestic violence.

Among the members of the Anti-Trafficking Task Force honored and thanked by the legislators were its founders—Ali Boak, Co-Founder and President of International Organization for Adolescents (IOFA); Audrey Stone, 2^nd Deputy District Attorney and Chief, Special Prosecutions, Westchester County District Attorney’s Office; Pound Ridge Police Department Chief David Ryan; and Karen Cheeks-Lomax, Executive Director of My Sisters’ Place.

“Thanks to the efforts of the County’s Anti-Trafficking Task Force, public safety officials and community leaders have a better understanding and more tools to fight this reprehensible violation of human rights,” said Jenkins. “In their first year, the task force has brought greater awareness of these crimes to Westchester residents, which will make it harder for perpetrators to operate and exist here.”

Since its inception last year, the Westchester County Anti-Trafficking Task Force has been conducting proactive investigations of sex and labor trafficking crimes while collaborating with local, state and federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies.

It has identified victims of trafficking and supported prosecution of the trafficking crimes through its enhancement of community reporting of the crimes, thanks to specific training and outreach activities. 

“The Board of Legislators truly values the work being done here to identify and hold traffickers accountable, and help victims find justice and repair their lives,” said Harckham.

“We’re proud to help support the organizations here today who are involved against trafficking, which, sadly, remains a serious and prevalent problem everywhere around the world.”

A sizeable immigrant population working in a variety of industries and businesses around Westchester make the county a prime location for trafficking.

With this in mind, the task force has provided a number of police departments in Westchester with all day training and awareness programs during this past year, which has resulted in the identification of potential trafficking cases.

Last week, the Anti-Trafficking Task Force announced that it was unveiling a plan to develop a multi-agency protocol to combat trafficking to ensure joint cooperation between law enforcement authorities and social service providers. 

“It is reassuring to know that the Anti-Trafficking Task Force has accomplished so much in just its first year,” said Williams. “Working together, the members of this task force will make our communities safer and protect the rights of those who may be trafficking victims. Thanks to this task force, we will be able to handle these crimes accordingly anywhere in Westchester.”

The Westchester legislators presented proclamations to Ms. Boak, Ms. Cheeks-Lomax, Ms. Stone and Chief Ryan that thanked them as individuals, and on behalf of the organizations they represent, for their work on the task force.

“On behalf of the entire Task Force, we are humbled by your recognition of all of our efforts,” said Boak. “The Westchester County Anti-Trafficking Task Force will continue to be an aggressive force in the community to raise awareness of the issue of human trafficking. We will work to create an environment where it is safe for trafficked persons to come forward and seek assistance while forwarding a message to all trafficking victims that law enforcement is on your side and that you have rights.”

According to Cheeks-Lomax, My Sisters’ Place assisted about 87 alleged trafficking victims in 2011, up from about 45 in the previous year.

“At My Sisters’ Place, we have been unknowingly serving victims of human trafficking for many years,” said Cheeks-Lomax. “Now, with full understanding of the specialized services that trafficking victims need, we can appropriately identify and serve them.”