Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert and local organizations gave a progress report Friday on the battle to eliminate sex trafficking in the City of Omaha.
Two years after the Coalition on Human Trafficking was formed, Mayor Stothert says 1,200 employees at 107 hotels have be trained to recognize the telltale signs of human trafficking and what to do when they see those signs.
Some of those signs include a person that can't go anywhere by themselves, don't have their identification or few personal possessions. Everyone involved in the this ongoing battle are pleased with the progress being made.
"It sends a strong message to those that are trafficking that they better not be doing it in hotels and if they're doing it they better rethink it to do it there or anywhere in this entire state because people are knowledgeable, and they're going to make the call, they're going to realize and they're going to make the call to law enforcement so we can do what we need to do," says Omaha Police Captain Ken Kanger.
Meghan Malik with the Women's Fund of Omaha says the City averages around 675 individuals sold for sex on a monthly basis. "Sex trafficking is happening in our communities and no zip code is immune."
Mayor Stothert says on average the victims in a human trafficking case are 12-14 year old girls with a history of abuse. In the future the group is hoping to get 100 percent participation by hotels and motels in a 50 mile radius of Omaha.