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Few insidious crimes against humanity lurk as deeply in the shadows as human trafficking.
The crime, a form of modern-day slavery in which fiendish people profit from the control and exploitation of others, thrives best when public awareness about it and law-enforcement aggressiveness against it also are kept at bay.
Fortunately, in recent years, state and national attention, coupled with much more assertive and concerted police campaigns to fight it, the abominable crime has come out of the shadows and into the forefront of the public consciousness.
Fortunately for our region, the Mahoning Valley has established itself as a robust arsenal in the war on human trafficking.
On the demand side, the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force has made great strides over the eight years of its existence in apprehending and punishing its players.
On the supply side, the new FreeThree nonprofit is off to a great start in assisting human trafficking survivors in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.
Just earlier this week, the task force -- comprised of members of the Mahoning County Sheriff's Office, state Bureau of Criminal Investigation and numerous police departments in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties -- made 132 arrests in a statewide sting on the purveyors of human trafficking. Six of them hailed from communities in the Valley and range in age from 27 to 62.
Our region certainly is no oasis from the tragedy of trafficking and its related crimes. Over the past year, for example, the task force has witnessed a 300% increase in the number of sexual exploitation cases.
Though it is disturbing, the presence of human trafficking in the Mahoning Valley is not all that surprising. After all, the Youngstown-Warren metro area can be considered prime breeding grounds for the perfidious crime.
That's due, in part, to the convenient network of interstate highways that converge here, providing easy access for quick getaways for ringleaders in such criminal enterprises.
In the face of those challenges, clearly the local task force has established itself as a leader of such specialized law enforcement posses in the state.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost recognized as much earlier this year when he issued a commendation to the task force, hailing it as a model of commitment and consistency.
"Sheriff Jerry Greene's task force is the tip of the spear when it comes to fighting the perversion that fuels human trafficking," Yost said in congratulating the MVHTTF for apprehending dozens of child pornographers and would-be sex buyers.
Now that increased awareness has led to concrete progress in apprehending more and more human traffickers, thankfully its victims and their recoveries also have come into sharper focus.
In support of that effort, the nonprofit FreeThree stands tall. Its name derives from the three counties making up the Mahoning Valley and the group's threefold mission in combating the crime and aiding its survivors: awareness, outreach and direct care. So far, the organization says it has helped more than 1,000 victims of sexual exploitation.
That number alone drives home the point of the pervasiveness of human trafficking in our backyards. The organization deserves broad public support for its Global Walk for Freedom starting at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Covelli Centre.
Elsewhere, survivors of human trafficking are receiving special attention and GRACE in the courtroom of Youngstown Municipal Court Judge Renee DiSalvo. GRACE, Growth Restored through Acceptance, Change and Empowerment, has evolved into this area's first Ohio Supreme Court Specialized Docket for survivors of human trafficking who end up in the criminal justice system by offering counseling and support services to them.
On Capitol Hill, U.S. Rep. David Joyce, R-Bainbridge, who represents Trumbull County, has risen as a front-lines warrior against human trafficking. He sponsored recently enacted legislation that provides survivors of human trafficking some $40 million in resources designed to give them a variety of services and support tools on their road to recovery.
Clearly, momentum is building fast and furiously in the Valley to rein in the perversity and long-term harms inflicted by human trafficking. We urge those growing local armies on the front lines never to retreat from their vigilant fight.