DA’s office lands grants to improve human trafficking, drug investigations; fund gun buyback
Two new state grants will pay for the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office to offer a gun buyback event; increase surveillance and criminal investigations in areas known for illicit drug sales; and provide specialized training for police and prosecutors to conduct complex human trafficking investigations. Gov. Maura Healey’s office announced the $60,141 grant from the state’s Human Trafficking Enforcement and Training Program and $93,000 from the Project Safe Neighborhood Program this week.
The human trafficking grant will pay for advanced training of police and prosecutors investigating suspected human trafficking, sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children. The money will enable two dozen members of law enforcement to attend specialized conferences and seminars focused on conducting proactive, technology-facilitated investigations on social media platforms and the dark web. It will also cover the cost of equipment needed to conduct such investigations.
Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Suhl said the goal is to develop a regional group of investigators with advanced skills in obtaining digital evidence and the technological expertise to conduct complex human trafficking investigations. Launching such investigations proactively is necessary because victims of trafficking most often are not in a position to reach out for help, she noted.
“Human trafficking is not reported to the police in the same way most other crimes are,” said Suhl. “Investigators must proactively seek out perpetrators by conducting undercover investigations online, including on the dark web where many traffickers facilitate their crimes.”
Another project funded by the grant will be a series of trainings offered in collaboration with the two Children’s Advocacy Centers serving the region. These trainings will be offered to police officers and other (child abuse) mandated reporters, including school employees and medical personnel to educate about commercial sexual exploitation of children and the complications of such investigations. Those trainings, two in Hampshire County and two in Franklin County, will be planned and offered in the spring, with dates to be determined.
The Project Safe Neighborhood grant will cover costs of a district-wide gun buyback effort the DA’s office will offer in collaboration with the Northampton and Greenfield police departments. This event will help remove unwanted guns from the region to prevent street sales as well as accidental deaths and suicides. The date for the initiative has yet to be announced, but it is expected to take place in the spring.
Gun buyback programs offer incentives of prepaid gift cards of $75-$150 for turning in guns which are then destroyed. The grant will also foot the bill for overtime costs and equipment needed for the Northwestern District’s Anti-Crime Task Force to target the largest sources of illegal drugs in the district in an effort to stop the supply of drugs in the community. The task force is made up of local police from 13 departments as well as three state police members attached to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.
In addition to those two new grants, the DA’s office also received $124,226 from the Violence Against Women’s STOP grant program to continue the office’s long-running Domestic Violence Intervention Project. This early intervention program connects victims with domestic violence advocates from Behavioral Health Network and NELCWIT (New England Learning Center for Women in Transition) in the immediate aftermath of an incident of domestic violence, who assist with safety planning, restraining orders, and resource referrals.