Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz announced Wednesday morning that a joint state-city task force is being created to contend with human trafficking in Anchorage and across Alaska.
According to a statement from Berkowitz's office, "enhanced civil and criminal law enforcement and regulatory efforts to reduce human trafficking" will be the focus of the task force, which the mayor is convening with Alaska State Department of Labor Commissioner Heidi Drygas. Instances of human trafficking extend to employers forcing people to work against their will for less than minimum wage, for excessive hours or in conditions that don't meet minimum safety standards.
Law enforcement, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and Alaska Native entities are among those participating in the task force, as well as an ad-hoc nongovernmental group that works on reducing sex trafficking in Alaska, the statement said.
"The fact that trafficking continues to exist is a reminder that even in our city, human beings are horribly exploited, their humanity and dignity assaulted and stolen," Berkowitz said in the statement. "We will partner with the state and others to pursue, root out, and punish traffickers while making sure victims find sanctuary and justice."
Berkowitz and Drygas met shortly after the mayor took office in July, and the two officials shared concerns about human trafficking, said Zack Fields, a special assistant to Drygas.
The task force will mark the expansion of a group that was already monitoring human trafficking statewide and included the state's wage and hour section in the Division of Labor Standards and Safety, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, said Grey Mitchell, director of the labor standards and safety division. Mitchell said the task force is a way to bring together other regulatory agencies and organizations to strategize ways to put pressure on employers that engage in trafficking.
Mitchell said the wage and hour section of his division encounters several cases a year, in industries that include home health care and restaurants, and those concerns are passed to federal law enforcement officials. He said those being exploited often do not speak English as their first language, and do not understand protections available to them.
Mitchell said the state's new licensing system for massage therapists is also aimed at unearthing instances of human trafficking. Separately, in Anchorage, a set of draft city regulations introduced last week aimed to crack down on prostitution and human trafficking among businesses posing as massage therapy clinics.
Nora Morse, spokeswoman for Berkowitz, said the administration is concerned about labor as well as sex trafficking in various industries in Anchorage.
The task force will hold its first meeting Monday at 2 p.m. in the mayor's conference room in City Hall, Morse said. The meeting is open to the public.