4-5).
The former governor of NY state, Eliot Spitzer, along with others passed laws that directly criminalized those involved with sex trafficking. These new laws specified that those charged with sex trafficking crimes will be more punished than those charged with labor trafficking, therefore, the state enforced the eradication of sex trafficking specifically. These sexual slave trafficking crimes can lead up to 25 years in prison, compared to up to seven in labor trafficking. These new laws and guidelines clearly mapped out the offenses and their consequence. Michael E. Bongiorno, a District Attorney from Rockland County, explained that these new guidelines will give "local law enforcement and prosecutors the tools they need to successfully investigate and prosecute human trafficking cases" (Hakim par. 3-9). Despite these measures that have been taken after the arrest of a criminal involved in sex trafficking, measures to catch them are much harder to create. Only a minimal amount of arrests of criminals has been made compared to the amount believed to be out there.
The lack of arrests of criminals since the passing of Spitzer's law in 2007 is being partially blamed on the efforts made with training officers, which are not enough. There are constantly thousands of people being smuggled day by day and it's a matter of training the involved parties to recognize even the smallest signs of a distraught victim so they can help. Human sex trafficking is different and deemed as being more severe than prostitution, however, many officers have not had the necessary training to distinguish each crime and to look for difference between them. Even when the officers have made a distinction, the charges for human trafficking are stricter than those of prostitution and will inherently require much more effort on the official's part regarding paperwork, evidence, and time spent on the scene or with the victim.
