Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt says because of interest in the issue, Kansas policy makers have made advancement in dealing with the problem of human trafficking.

Schmidt spoke during the recent Crimestoppers banquet in Junction City, “in the state’s infrastructure capacity, financing, and just public awareness of dealing with this problem. And especially on the sex trafficking side.” Schmidt noted the efforts have not been limited in that area. There has been progress on the labor trafficking side of the issue.

Schmidt reported that in 2005, Kansas did not have a statute making it a crime to traffic in other human beings, although there were other statutes that could be utilized. “But it has been less than a decade that Kansas first uttered that phrase human trafficking as a policy matter.” Schmidt noted the state has gone from now law on the statute books or organized response effort to one of the stronger laws in the country. “that focuses not just on penalizing the wrong doers, but on supporting victims, which is very important.”