There are less than five months until the Super Bowl comes to the Valley for the third time.
The major event is more than just fun and games as Glendale police is preparing for an influx of human trafficking incidents, similar to what we saw the last time we hosted the big game.
Super Bowl week is expected to bring in record crowds in February but, not everyone or everything is what they seem.
“Human trafficking and sex trafficking in particular, it follows the money. So, when we have mega events that come to town, the traffickers often bring their workers into the Valley,” says Sgt. Aaron Victor, Glendale PD.
Glendale police spoke with our news partners, KTAR, who say they have a team of detectives that will be working with other law enforcement agencies, specifically on human trafficking enforcement.
“We work to arrest people that are customers of, often, sex workers. We work child predator operations, and a lot of those target the child predators that operate online to target, that target children for exploitation,” says Sgt. Victor.
The last time the Super Bowl was here was in 2015.
Glendale PD tells ABC15 detectives encountered multiple sex workers then and think this year will be no different. Meantime, the Starbright Foundation, works to rescue children and young adults from human trafficking.
“The best thing to do is just be very cognizant of what the interactions your kids are having - whether it be online, going to the malls, and any place where kids are attracted, is where traffickers are,” says Cari Sparks, director of media at Starbright Foundation.
Cari Sparks tells ABC15, "if your child's behavior changes or they bring strange gifts home, ask questions to find out what they are doing. If you see something, you are asked to try to take photo or video as documentation."
“Many times, people will call us up and go, ‘we saw something over at a particular location.’ But, they don't have all the pieces put together to be able to identify who that potential victim is or who the perpetrators are,” says Sparks.
For those victims who might be watching, advocates say don't be ashamed to come forward.
“Let somebody know that you are vulnerable; let somebody know that you're being targeted. Have the conversation; make a difference," says Sparks.
