Human Trafficking Numbers Difficult to Quantify

Dallas Police, Advisory Council urge residents to report suspicions

The Dallas Police Department has seen an increase in human trafficking cases in recent years – something Major Devon Palk credits to community education and collaboration with neighborhood agencies.

Palk oversees the Special Investigations Division.

“Having low numbers of human trafficking just means that it’s not getting reported,” he said. “One case is too many, but I would rather have more cases to investigate that we later find out are unsubstantiated than to not have anyone reporting potential human trafficking.”

In 2021, 49 adult and 290 juvenile cases were investigated in Dallas. In 2022, there were 142 adult and 247 juvenile cases, and in 2023 as of April 12, there have been 39 adult cases and 79 juvenile cases.

“We have to have the public willing to call in and report those things to the police department so that we have the opportunity to be able to investigate and disrupt that criminal activity,” Palk said. “We truly need the public to be able to do our jobs.”

The department works with local agencies, such as the North Texas Trafficking Task Force run by Homeland Security Investigations, to conduct investigations. These include undercover operations and working with victims through trauma-informed approaches by partnering with advocacy groups that can provide for victims’ immediate needs.

“The department takes a very victim-centric approach,” Palk said. “Our main goal is not only to try and get as many victims out of human trafficking, but of course also to prosecute the individuals that are responsible for getting people into human trafficking.”

District 13 City Councilwoman Gay Donnell Willis is the vice chair for the city’s Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking Advisory Council, which works with agencies and nonprofits to monitor emerging trends, conduct research for bills for the state legislature, and share knowledge about the issue.

“[Trafficking] runs underground, and it’s not always easy to find or identify,” Willis said. “It’s certainly a situation where victims are truly victims. They’re scared to death, and they are being manipulated and threatened and abused, and so it’s not easy to speak up or even know that there’s help out there.”

Willis said Texas is second in the U.S. in reported cases of human trafficking. 

“It’s frustrating because it’s hard to pinpoint [statistics],” Willis said. “In Texas, there [were], I think, last year, 79,000 victims. I don’t know how that parses out to Dallas, but I would say, given we’re a major transportation crossroads and have a big market and have heard that there is a high demand, that this is a hot market for human trafficking.”

The city’s office of data analytics is developing a human trafficking dashboard similar to one that went live last fall for domestic violence. A timeline for this project is not yet available.

“I suspect that while we may not have a great sense of human trafficking in Dallas right now that we feel is super accurate, I think we’re moving toward that,” Willis said. “The wheels are already in motion.”