Co-Facilitators
Erie County Sheriff’s Office
The Office of the Sheriff is the oldest office under the system of common law in the United States and is an integral part of government in the State of New York. The Erie County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO) is the largest Sheriff’s Office in the State of New York and the 14th largest in the nation. The ECSO employs over 1100 employees in 7 different divisions.
The ECSO has been a core member of the Western District of New York Human Trafficking Task Force since 2006, dedicating Detectives and Deputies to the Human Trafficking Unit within the Narcotics and Intelligence Division. The ECSO is the lead local law enforcement agency in a multidisciplinary task force that utilizes a victim-centered approach, placing the individualized needs of trafficking victims first. The ECSO conducts proactive victim centered investigations working to identify all types of victims of sex and labor trafficking.
Erie County Sheriff’s Office Website
International Institute of Buffalo
The International Institute of Buffalo has been "welcoming the stranger" since 1918; today thriving as a human rights-based social service agency. The Institute collaborates with immigrants, refugees, and other populations as they work toward safety, stability, independence while simultaneously assisting more traditional systems in growing their cultural responsiveness to all vulnerable communities.
The Institute has co-facilitated the Western District of New York Human Trafficking Task Force since 2006, working collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team to ensure victim-centered, trauma-informed investigations and prosecutions. The dedicated team of case managers provide comprehensive, trauma-informed services to survivors of all types of human trafficking, regardless of age, immigration status, or need.
International Institute of Buffalo Website
U.S. Attorney’s office
The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York encompasses 17 counties. With Offices in Buffalo and Rochester, the United States Attorney is the principal Federal Law Enforcement Officer in the District and prosecutes all violations of the Federal Criminal Law. The offices in the Western District of New York contain 45 Assistant U.S. Attorneys, who handle a high volume of cases that include including terrorism, organized crime, serious narcotics trafficking, complex fraud schemes, public corruption, human trafficking, child pornography and much more.
The U.S. Attorney's Office also collaborates to proactively investigate cases of human trafficking and serves as a key core team member of the task force. The U.S. Attorney's Office believes in a multidisciplinary approach to identify human trafficking crimes, assist human trafficking victims, and prosecute human trafficking cases and works proactively with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit (HTPU) to streamline fast-moving trafficking investigations, ensure consistent application of trafficking statutes, and identify multijurisdictional trafficking.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Website