Thoughts working in the HTRL this semester


This semester in the Human Trafficking Research Lab has been busy. Earlier in the year, I attended a panel discussion on human trafficking and how police tackle the challenges and developments that they come across. I was representing the lab and informing people about the work that we do at Millikin. There were several police officers present as well as FBI agents who answered questions from Dr. Dean and students who came to watch. They talked about the implications of the new policies put into place by the Trump administration, and spoke on their experiences with fighting human trafficking. 

Throughout the semester, we met in the human trafficking lab to discuss our work that we have done with data collection. We also learned from Dr. Dean about students who came before us, and the work that they did with the lab. The meetings were productive, and they taught me more about who supports the work we do. We met once every two weeks, and the meetings were small in size so that we could maximize productivity. 

For my work at the human trafficking lab at Millikin, I analyzed arrest records from 2019 in Champaign County. I found many cases of sexual assault and child endangerment, as well as some potential cases of human trafficking. This was my first time using a court database, and I learned a great deal about how the court system works. I was learned the importance of properly classifying arrests, and why mistakes like this can hurt the victims of human trafficking. 

Colin Claffey



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