Florida officially has a statewide human trafficking reporting number. Following information and a subsequent letter to Congress regarding the National Human Trafficking Hotline operated by Polaris, failing to disseminate timely suspected human trafficking tips to local law enforcement, Attorney General Ashley Moody and Florida’s Statewide Council on Human Trafficking, working with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, created a Florida-specific tipline. Monday, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill mandating the new statewide tipline be displayed on human trafficking awareness signs across Florida. Anyone who suspects human trafficking in Florida is now urged to call 855-FLA-SAFE.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “The State of Florida is committed to ending human trafficking. Unfortunately, the woke Stanford and Columbia-educated CEO of Polaris has pushed a radical agenda to delay the dissemination of vital information to local law enforcement in favor of what she calls a ‘victim centered approach’. As a former federal prosecutor, former judge, and the wife of a law enforcement officer, I know that we can be putting these heinous criminals behind bars quicker, sparing other potential victims AND connecting survivors to the resources they need—if tips are sent to police in a timely manner. Pushing a narrative that we can stop a crime by working against law enforcement is ridiculous. It has been proven, time and time again, as a failed approach in cities and states across the nation. Floridians who suspect human trafficking need to call 855-FLA-SAFE.”

In September 2020, Polaris announced its new CEO, Catherine Chen, who according to the appointment announcement, “accepts that we cannot arrest our way out of this problem and understands that trafficking in all its forms is the end result of inequities, abuses of power and massive systemic and governmental failures.” According to her bio, Chen “has spent more than two decades building innovative social justice programs and pushing for policy changes to address the root causes of sex and labor trafficking.”