ORLANDO, Fla. — Central Florida is a known hot-spot for human trafficking, and local law enforcement may be looking into a new way to fight it.
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That fight centers around some of Florida’s most popular tourist destinations and a new task force may be taking a hard look at Central Florida’s theme parks.
In a press conference Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis, joined by State Attorney Andrew Bain, suggested the creation of a unit to work around some of the area’s largest attractions.
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Florida already has layers of investigative units working on stopping human trafficking. Now, it appears the tourism district is asking Bain and other agencies to try and prevent such crimes near the attractions.
State Attorney Andrew Bain’s office confirmed it’s working with Orlando’s Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation and local sheriff’s offices to address the tourism district’s concerns.
It says there is nothing new in place, but the office is in preliminary discussions with the district.
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“We recover kids basically on a weekly basis here in our district,” Bain said during Thursday’s press conference.
“Unfortunately, the human trafficking is really the magnet when you have a lot of events and things like that,” Gov. DeSantis added. “So obviously, Florida Central, there’s conventions. There’s a whole bunch of stuff.”
Neither Bain nor DeSantis would offer additional details, or cite any specific problems in the area, only saying the region has been a “hot-spot.”
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“The City of Orlando ranks third among cities for human trafficking reports,” Bain said.
Florida overall ranks third in the country for human trafficking reports behind California and Texas.
In 2021, the National Human Trafficking Hotline identified 781 cases of human trafficking in Florida, representing seven percent of the cases reported nationwide.
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