Criminology

Introduction
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America(American Constitution) This opening words of the constitution of the United State of America provides a fitting bases to begin this study which is devoted to the subject of Human Trafficking in America.

It is the vision and mission of our people that each one of us would live in an atmosphere of freedom to develop his or her God given talent for the betterment of the society while preserving the good name of the American people. It is this spirit that has propelled no mean personalities to always excel not only on our land but beyond. It is an understatement to say that America is the greatest nation on the surface of the earth today.

Human Trafficking is a challenge which has been in practice for many centuries and continuous to be one of the dark spot in the history of humanity. Since the inception of 20th century and leading up to the 21st century man has been involved in all manner of exploitation in order to subdue his environment. Even though man has discovered the most sophisticated technology, the solution to this heinous crime seems to be eluding man as the prevalence of it seems to suggest that the market is becoming more and more attractive. The Palermo Protocol defines Human trafficking as recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. These people are usually engaged in ooccupations like prostitution, enforced labour and other forms of involuntary services usually for a small amount of fee or for none at all. This according to Nabila is a criminal phenomenon that violates basic human rights, and totally destroying victims lives. Countries are affected in various ways. Some see their young women being lured to leave their home country and ending up in the sex industry abroad. Other countries act mainly as transit countries, while several others receive foreign women who become victims of sexual exploitation.

1.0 legal framework
In the United States of America, the fight against human trafficking has been an issue that has attracted may federal and state legislations. These include the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act (TVPA, 2000), Trafficking Victims Preventing Reauthorization Act (TVPA, 2003), Trafficking Victims Preventing Reauthorization Act (TVPA, 2005 and William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Government website)

Public Law 106-386, enacted in October 28, 2000, created a two-tiered definition of trafficking which included severe forms of trafficking in persons and sex trafficking. This law provided for 95 million, over the course of two years, for the enforcement of anti-trafficking provisions as new assistance programs. Annual reports on trafficking as part of the State Department Country reports on Human Rights were also provided with this law. This law included severe punishments, including up to life imprisonment, and the possibility of severe economic sanctions for those persons convicted of operating trafficking enterprises within the U.S. Authorized grants for shelter and rehabilitation programs, as well as provisions for relief from deportation for victims who face retribution or other hardship if removed from the U.S. With this law an Inter-agency Task Force was established to monitor and combat trafficking, which would facilitate and evaluate progress in trafficking prevention, victims assistance, and the prosecution of traffickers (Trafficking Victims Prevention Reauthorization Act (TVPRA, 2000)

Trafficking Victims Preventing Reauthorization Act (TVPA, 2003) on the other hand is the Public Law 108-193, enacted in December 19, 2003. It authorized appropriations for fiscal years 2004 and 2005. This law created a Special Watch List to keep pressure on countries of various Tiers in the trafficking report and added new criteria for the State Department to consider in drafting the trafficking in person report, including evaluating progress from year to year. Human trafficking crime predicated offenses for RICO charges and victims are now allowed to sue their traffickers in U.S. courts. This law required that U.S. Government contracts, relating to international affairs, contain clauses authorizing termination by the United States if the contractor engages in human trafficking or procures commercial sexual services while the contract is in force. This law also requires that the administration inform travelers, of selected locations, about U.S. laws against sex tourism.

The Public Law 109-164, enacted January 10, 2006, also provides U.S. courts jurisdiction over federal government employees and contractors for trafficking offenses committed abroad. It has enhanced specified U.S. efforts to combat trafficking in persons, including the prevention of such activities by international peacekeepers. This law requires the Attorney General to study and report to Congress on the prevalence of severe forms of trafficking and sex trafficking in the U.S., and the approach to combat these crimes by law enforcement. A grant program has been established for states and local law enforcement, totaling 50 million in 2006 and 2007 to investigate and prosecute acts of trafficking in persons and criminals who purchase commercial sex acts within the United States. This law is also directed at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate acts of (1) severe forms of trafficking in persons other than domestic trafficking in persons and (2) domestic trafficking in persons (The Trafficking Victims Prevention Reauthorization Act (TVPRA, 2005)

The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (H.R. 7311), was passed by both the House and the Senate on December 10, 2008. The President signed it into law on December 23, 2008, P.L. 110-457, 122 Stat. 5044 (2008). The Act enhances federal efforts to combat both international and domestic traffic in human beings. The bill directs the President to create a system to monitor anti-trafficking efforts and programs at the federal level. There are a number of important expansions to the criminal provisions included in the Act. For example, prosecutors no longer have to prove that a defendant knew the victim was a minor they just need to show that a defendant had a reasonable opportunity to observe the victim. In addition, the standard of proof is lowered to reckless disregard for traffickers or defendants who come into contact with victims forced to engage in commercial sex acts. Additional provisions are made to provide assistance for domestic trafficking victims. The Act requires the Department of Justice to create a new model law that based in part on D.C. Criminal Code 22-2701 et seq. making all acts of pimping and pandering per se crimes, even without proof of force, fraud or coercion or a victims minor age. There are a number of new provisions in the Act specific to data collection and reporting. The Act orders the Federal Bureau of Investigation to break down the categories of prostitution and commercialized vice arrests in the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) to show how many prostitutes, johns and pimps or traffickers were arrested. Additionally, a new category of Human Trafficking will appear in the serious crimes category of the UCR. The Act also requires several new studies from the Department of Justice about the enforcement of laws related to human trafficking.

Statement of the Problem
Despite the tight legal environment and the vigilance of over 7000 national and international non organizations dedicated to this cause, the challenge of human trafficking appears to be a growing phenomenon with its nature and systems becoming more and more complex. In his research into the Dynamics of human trafficking (prostitution and sex component), Charles M Goolsby found out that Modern human slavery is a growing global phenomenon that currently entraps an estimated 2 million victims, and generates 7 Billion in criminal profits annually, rating third in profitability only after drugs and arms sales for the Mafia, yakuzas, cartels and similar international criminal organizations. The U.S. CIA estimates that approximately 50,000 persons are trafficked into slavery in the United States annually. A large majority of those victims are forced into prostitution. In is estimated that 30,000 sexual slaves die each year around the world from torture, neglect and diseases including HIVAIDS. This is against the backdrop that human trafficking has raised crime rate all over the world. Among several other causes of human trafficking, domestic aggression and breakdown of the family system has contributed a great deal. The recent HYPERLINK httpwww.nytimes.com20091027us27runaways.html_r2pagewanted2themcth t _blankNew York Times report on the domestic sex trafficking victims only reminds the American public of the gravity of family breakdown and the impact of its dysfunction as a social dilemma. Number of researches andHYPERLINK httpwww.examiner.comexaminerx-24740-Norfolk-Human-Rights-Examinery2009m10d28-US-domestic-trafficking-how-a-teenager-becomes-a-sex-slave t _blank articles in the past constantly reveal that many minor trafficking victims are runaways from their own families. (Kim Youngbee,) It is against this background that this research however its limitations is expected to contribute  to the growing knowledge and general desire to provide adequate information to strengthen the fight against human trafficking particularly in America.

Significance of study
As organized human trafficking expands rapidly across the diverse cultural communities within the United States, an array of public and private institutions are working to understand this problem, quantify it and develop effective responses. (Anderson, p 46) These response activities typically involve international, federal and local law enforcement medical and mental health professionals religious institutions academics social service agencies, immigrant advocacy and other community based organizations and federal, state and local legislators and policy makers. International and regional agencies and national governments have recently engaged in major collaborations with academics and victim advocates to provide a leadership role in response to this problem. The United Nations, UNICEF, The U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Justice, other agencies of the U.S. government, the European Union and the Organization of American states are all actively working on this issue. Together with leading academics and other subject matter experts, these organizations have developed protocols, treaties, legislation, international working groups and major international research studies to define and respond to the growing human trafficking crisis.

It is expected that the study would achieve the following objectives would be achieved.

Organisation of Study
The study will be organized into six chapters.
Chapter one will be made up of an Introduction, Legal Framework, and Statement of the Problem, Objectives and Significance of the study, research problem, and limitations.
Chapter two will review all relevant literature connected to the study. This will be grouped under international Perspectives on Human Trafficking, Statistics on the escalating issue of Human trafficking and The causes and effects of Human Trafficking
Chapter Three is about the methodology which was used in the study. This includes the sources used for the study, the study population, the sampling frame, sampling procedure, method of data collection and data management.
Chapter Four deals with analyzing the data through the use of the SPSS package to find out whether the results corresponds to the research problem or otherwise and also show the relationship between the dependent and independent variables.
Chapter Five will address suggested components
Chapter Six will discuss the findings found on the field and make the necessary recommendations.

Limitations of Study
In as much as the study is expected to be successful, it will not be without limitations.
The first limitation is in relation to the sample. The entire research and its conclusions are based on the views of only 31 respondents (past victims, repented self confessed agents, Parents of former victims, Law enforcement officers, Concerned Non Governmental Organisation who will be chosen at random though there are some few guidelines

Secondly the entire sample would be limited to the extent of the responses of the respondents. Even though they will be encouraged to be as honest and frank as possible, these can not be guaranteed as it is a voluntary disclosure.

Thirdly the research will be constrained by cultural factors. Since all the samples would be selected from a particular culture, it is likely that the cultural issues with respect to marriage may have found its way into the answers of the respondents.

Fourthly, the issues of having to follow up on respondents to answer the questionnaire will also be a limitation as it will take a  long time to get people to volunteer information they considered to be personal.

Lastly the challenge of raising funds to carry out the work can not be overlooked

Hypothesis
This research will seek to prove the cause and effect relationship between the growing breakdown of the family system and its contribution to the preponderance of Human Trafficking in the United State of America. To this end the following Hypothesis is expected to be tested.
The break down of the family system is likely to be the main cause of the prevalence of human trafficking in the United State of America.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The trafficking of human being especially women and children for all forms exploitation is a high-profit, low-risk trade for those who organize it, but it is detrimental to the millions of people especially women and children exploited in slavery-like conditions in the global sex industry. This trade, which former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called an outrage and a worldwide plague (2), is conducted throughout the world with near impunity, in many cases carrying penalties far less severe than drug trafficking (3). Though people often associate it with Eastern Europe or Asia, there is mounting evidence that the trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation, with its concomitant human rights abuses and health consequences, is a significant problem in the Americasone that promises to worsen unless collective.

The first international agreement on the definition of trafficking is found in the 2000 UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (5) which expounded on the definition of human trafficking. Phinney asserts that in areas where poverty has already limited peoples choices, discrimination against people in education, employment and wages can leave them with very few options for supporting themselves and their families (2). Migration through formal channels is not possible for many of these people and dreaming of a better life in the city, or a foreign country, they become vulnerable to traffickers false promises of high-paying jobs.  Even though women especially might feel uneasy about the travel circumstances, despair over their current prospects and hope for a new life can easily outweigh any sense of danger.  In this way poverty and gender inequality create a large pool of potential and seemingly willing recruits.

Yiranbon confirms that In addition to exploiting economic need, traffickers exploit the vulnerability of women and children who have fled their homes because of violence or have been displaced by armed conflict or natural disasters.(9)  The psychological impact and social stigma of victimization can increase womens vulnerability to manipulation and exploitation by traffickers (5). In Guatemala, for example, traffickers preyed on young girls raped in the course of armed conflict, whose stigma as rape victims had damaged their marriage prospects (14) Within these dynamics of global demand and supply related to the sex industry, traffickers ply their entrepreneurial skills although relatively little is known about traffickers routes, networks, and associations.

Restrictive immigration policies, Lack of information about migration risks, Social construction of male sexuality, Insufficient or inadequate laws, Poor law enforcement, Ineffective penalties, Corruption, complacency, Invisibility of issue crime in the Americas, one can easily understand the factors that allow them to practice their trade with  impunity.

International and domestic laws are lacking or insufficient where laws do exist, sentencing guidelines do not provide a deterrent. Corruption contributes heavily to traffickers real and perceived impunity through police and immigration officials who collude, accept bribes, or turn a blind eye. Though governments may not promote trafficking directly, they may be hesitant to take aggressive action against it, since the sex industry is extremely profitable and linked to other sectors, such as tourism. By this, supply, demand and impunity together create a space in which trafficking can flourish.

DESIGN OF THE STUDY

METHODS OF RESEARCH

Descriptive
This is the method that is employed in this research. According to European Survey Research Association, Descriptive method of research is to gather information about the present existing condition. It makes use observation and surveyswhich can be less costly and easy to understand. (1994, p.12).The purpose of employing this method is to describe the nature of the situation, as it exists at the time of the study and to explore the causes of particular phenomena. I have opted to use this kind of research considering my desire to obtain first hand data from the respondents so as to formulate rational and sound conclusions and recommendations for the study. (Moeller 1993, p.3)

QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE
The research is also partly based on quantitative research methods. This permits a flexible and iterative approach. This study will also employ qualitative research method, since this research intends to find and build theories that would explain the relationship of one variable with another variable through qualitative elements in research.

During data gathering the choice and design of methods were constantly modified, based on ongoing analysis. This allowed investigation of important new issues and questions as they arose, and gives the opportunity to drop unproductive areas of research from the original research plan.

STUDY POPULATION
The issue of human trafficking lends itself to many associates directly or indirectly working in the field. For the purposes of this study my population will be limited to victims (past and present), law enforcement agencies, parents of current and past victims, current and past agents and humanitarian organisations working in the field above.

SAMPLE SIZE
A total of 100 people were targeted as respondents to the questionnaire, out of this 96 questionnaires were successfully administered and processed for the determination of percentages and frequencies

SAMPLING PROCEDURE
According to Kreuger and Neuman (2006, p.2), there are varying reasons that inform the choice of a researchers sampling method. Basically it has to do with whether the research is quantitative or qualitative because while the quantitative researcher is more interested in getting a representative sampling to enable him study a smaller collection of units for large populations, the qualitative researcher focuses rather on relevance to the study.  In the case of this particular study, since the study is neither strictly qualitative nor quantitative, choosing an appropriate sampling procedure was very crucial. The quota sampling method was chosen for the reason that it has some elements of stratification that gives room for one to ensure some difference in the sample (Family Health International, 2003, p4). This was to ensure that it has a proportional representation of all the identifiable groups from whom data was needed.

DATA COLLECTION
Primary sources
The conclusions reached in this study were based on the primary data which included personal interviews and questionnaire administration. The subjects for the survey were chosen from different backgrounds. The questionnaire was prepared and a set of guide questions for the interview that were asked to the intended respondents. The data collection instrument was a self-made questionnaire which were designed and based on Likert scale. A Likert Scale is a rating scale that requires the subject to indicate his or her degree of agreement or disagreement with a statement. Ideally, the respondents will grade each statement in the survey-questionnaire using a Likert scale (Barnett, 1991), the questionnaire was opted as a tool since it is easy to construct Moreover, and copies of the questionnaire could reach a considerable number of respondents either by mail or by personal distribution. Generally, responses to a questionnaire are objectified and standardized and these make tabulation easy. But more importantly, the respondents replies are of their own free will because there is no interviewer to influence them. This is one way to avoid biases, particularly the interviewers bias.

SECONDARY SOURCES
Secondary data sources included published books, articles, journals and magazines that had to do with the focus of this research. This source of data gave the study a sense of purpose and direction, it contributed in informing the research objectives assumptions made and provided context for the analysis and interpretation of findings of the primary data.

INSTRUMENT VALIDITY
Closed questions type was used for the survey. A closed question is one that has pre-coded answers. The simplest is the dichotomous question to which the respondent must answer yes or no. Closed questions were used because the answers are easy to analyse and are straightforward as target respondents are mostly busy that they do not have enough time to give attention to open questions. Closed response questions save the respondent having to think of possible replies. They also make the process easier for the interviewer who simply has to tick a box or circle a number. Moreover, they spare the coding staff difficult judgments which, if wrong, can skew the findings. For validation purposes, I initially administered the questionnaire to 2 people in 4 different geographical areas to test its efficacy. I also tallied scores and tabulated all the responses in the provided interview questions. Moreover, structured interview was used in this research study. Structured interview is a kind of interview that promotes a question and answer process. It is composed of a detailed explicit questions and the researcher shall divert from putting or adding any other comment while the process of interviewing is being conducted. In addition, the researcher must be able to let the interviewee to elucidate further those unclear statements. However, the interviewer must see to it that the process should remain objective rather than subjective and that heshe does not have any right to state hisher own opinions and ideas so as not to influence the answers or comments of the interviewee.

DATA MANAGEMENT
Data collected from the field went through editing to check for errors and inconsistencies. Data was processed with the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) with this tool frequency tables, pie charts and bar charts were generated and then used to describe the findings.

STAFF RECRUITMENT
The staff employed to assist in data collection is an important part of the research process. The level of understanding of the supporting staff is evidenced in the quality of information solicited. In order to ensure the credibility of data, I sort the assistance of colleague university students who went through a period of training under my tutelage.

DATA ANALYSIS

Figure 1.0 shows a view of the different groups of people who responded to the questionnaire. This category includes Concerned Organisations, Law Enforcement Agencies, Parents of Victims, Agents, and Survived Victims. This gives an indication of the quality of people who were contacted.
Figure 1.1 is a cross tabulation of the relationship between the sexes of all respondents and their age category. This shows that the selection was fairly balance among the age groups and sexes.


What was your motivation for engaging in this businessVariableFrequencyPercentageUnemployment 233.33The financial reward is good466.67Others00.00Total6100.00Figure 1.2                                                                                                 Table 1.0

Figure 1.2 highlights the responds of Past Victims to their motivation to embark on their adventure. This data shows that 58.33 said their motivation was in search of greener pastures while natural disasters accounted for 16.67. Family problems recorded 25 as a motivation for embarking on some one this adventure. Table 1.0 on the other hand indicate the motivation some former agents provided as their main motivation to engage themselves in this business

Do you agree that the breakdown of your family system contributed to this event (s)VariableFrequencyPercentageStrongly Agree00.00Agree233.33Not Agree466.67Strongly Not Agree00.00Total6100.00

Table 1.1                                                                                                                        Figure 1.3

Table 1.1 shows the response of past agents (former) to whether the break down of family system is to blame for the problem of human trafficking. 66.67 do not agree while 33.33 agree that the break down of the family is to blame. Figure 1.3 gives the responds of Parent respondents to the same issue. See table in appendix

Figure 1.4                                                                                                                 Figure 1.5

Figure 1. 5 Shows the respond of Humanitarian Organisations and Law enforcement agencies on the issue of family system and human trafficking. While 12.12 strongly agree, 13.64 agree. However 22.73 of respondents in this category do not agree while 51.52 strongly do not agree.

HYPOTHESIS TESTING
The hypothesis states that
The break down of the family system is likely to be the main cause of the prevalence of human trafficking in the United State of America. This hypothesis was tested using cross tabulations, correlation, independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance using the Statistical Package for Social Scientist (SPSS).  The results as indicated by the tables below suggest and subsequent analysis does not support the assertion. . To this end the hypothesis is rejected.

Chi-Square TestsValuedfAsymp. Sig. (2-sided)Pearson Chi-Square2.43910.118Continuity Correctionb1.66010.198Likelihood Ratio2.43310.119Linear-by-Linear Association2.41610.120N of Valid Cases96Chi-Square TestsValuedfAsymp. Sig. (2-sided)Pearson Chi-Square.20510.651Continuity Correctionb.00710.932Likelihood Ratio.21710.642Linear-by-Linear Association.20310.653N of Valid Cases97Table1

Table2

Chi-Square TestsValuedfAsymp. Sig. (2-sided)Pearson Chi-Square2.62610.105Continuity Correctionb1.72910.189Likelihood Ratio2.43410.119Linear-by-Linear Association2.60110.107N of Valid Cases97
SUMMARY, GENERALISATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES

Introduction
This study set out as its foremost objective to examine the view or notion that the break down in the family system is largely to blame for the prevalence of human trafficking in the United States of America. This chapter discusses the findings from the research as presented in the table and diagrams as well as other critical information gathered during the period for which no appropriate form of quantification or diagrammatic representation could be made. Base on the discussions, some suggestions and recommendations would be made.

Knowledge about human trafficking
From the study it comes up clearly that the issue of human trafficking is a reality not a fiction. This study however its limitation did establish contact with twelve survived victims and six self confessed former agents their narrative account as presented in this document gives credence to the reality of the crime and contributes in no small way toward the ultimate eradication of this social canker. Moreover the research established contact with twenty nine law enforcement agents and thirty seven workers in organisations who have gathered a lot of information about this trade and are fighting against this form of illegality. The study also confirmed that the issue of human trafficking is not an unknown phenomenon since it dates back to decades ago. A lot of information as to the operational strategies of these criminals is available to security agencies and organisations that are fighting against this social canker. The study also confirms and acknowledges the role of numerous humanitarian workers w daily work at the peril of their lives to rescue people who are under this bondage. It is important to recall that while conducting this research, a respondent was attacked on his way to his home by suspected agents of a trafficking group who are against the work of these organisations.

Causes of human trafficking
This research also brings to the fore the issue of causation.  From the data collect it will be a disservice to society to simplify the issue of human trafficking as a concomitant of the break down of family systems. This is not supported statistically in this research.  The system is a fully developed and networked industry with sophisticated operational strategy built around a number of loophole and challenges in our social set up. I am tempted to agree with Assimeng that Restrictive immigration policies, Lack of information about migration risks, Social construction of male sexuality, Insufficient or inadequate laws, Poor law enforcement, Ineffective penalties, Corruption, complacency, Invisibility of issue crime in the Americas, one can easily understand the factors that allow them to practice their trade with impunity This require a review of the combating strategy in this new millennium

Conclusion
This research is intended also to support up and coming researchers in this area as a good reference point to begin their studies. Practically, I will recommend this work as a guide to institutions that are involved in fighting against this heinous crime in different forms. These include Non Governmental and Governmental institutions whose duty it is to ensure the demise of this empire as well as any person whose vision and focus are in consonants with the search for a better world.  I adopt the words of the Polish Prelate and former (late) head of the Roman Catholic Church John Paul II in his apostolic encyclical redemptoris missio as a fitting conclusion to this research My direct contact with peoples who live in oppression has convinced me even more of the urgency of missionary activity, a subject to which I am devoting the present encyclical.