Houston law firm publishes data on the prevalence of human trafficking and exploitation in the United States
HOUSTON, TX, April 8, 2021 — Around the world, there are an estimated 40.3 million victims trapped in modern-day slavery. One in 4 victims of modern slavery are children. What's more, victims' rights groups say that human trafficking across the country rose during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings and more are highlighted in a new detailed report on human trafficking statistics and laws.
The report, which was recently published by Neal Davis Law Firm—a respected criminal defense law firm based in the Houston area—primarily features data from 2019, the most recent year for which this information is available from the FBI and the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
Map of human trafficking arrests by state, according to the FBI's Human Trafficking data collection. As of 2019, 5 states either did not participate or only submitted partial data through the Bureau of Indian Affairs. These states are indicated on the map in black.
The report highlights which states had the highest and lowest numbers of reported human trafficking cases in 2019. The top states 5 included:
- California
- Texas
- Florida
- New York
- Ohio
American cities with the highest number of reported human trafficking cases in 2019 included:
- Washington, D.C.
- Atlanta, GA
- Orlando, FL
- Miami, FL
- Las Vegas, NV
The report also breaks down each state's laws and penalties for criminal offenses related to human trafficking, forced labor, prostitution, involuntary servitude, sexual servitude and other similar crimes.
The issue of human trafficking has received more widespread media attention and public concern in recent years in part due to the arrest of high-profile individuals like Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Nygard who have been charged with child sex trafficking.
"With this report, our goal is to uncover trends and statistics about human trafficking in order to better understand the scope of the issue,” said Houston attorney Neal Davis. “We have seen an escalation in the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases, including sex trafficking, and we expect this trend to continue."
View the full report here.
The Neal Davis Law Firm is a top-rated law firm based in Houston, Texas. Neal Davis is a defense attorney who is Board Certified in Criminal Law (by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization) who has handled over 1,000 cases from child sex offenses, drug charges and white collar crimes in state and federal courts—including the U.S. Supreme Court. With over 20 years of experience, including working with legendary criminal defense lawyer Dick DeGuerin, he primarily takes cases in Harris County, Montgomery County, and Fort Bend County, in addition to throughout Texas.
Neal Davis
Founding Attorney
Neal Davis Law Firm
The Heights Blvd Law Building
1545 Heights Blvd., Suite 700
Houston, TX 77008
(713) 227-4444
