Tennessee legislators have enacted 36 new laws to combat sex trafficking in the past four years, including some that that took effect today, reports WPLN.
The new laws include money for more special agents assigned to investigate sex traffickers for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. And for the first time, TBI will have the power to conduct electronic wiretapping.
Until now, that kind of surveillance has only been allowed for the most serious murders, drug dealing, and gang crimes. The TBI’s Margie Quin, an assistant special agent in charge, says it’s a tool that agents need.
“Much of the evidence can be found across the Internet and through electronic means,” Quin says. “With the advent of websites that are strictly geared toward selling women and children for sex, being able to combat that through electronic authority will be, I think, very beneficial.”
In the past four years, Tennessee has increased jail time for sex traffickers, given new protections to victims, and even gone after gangs that deal in trafficking.
…“We went from being sort of a middle to lower-tier state — with regard to the laws we have on the books to protect kids from things like commercial sexual exploitation — to No. 1 in the nation,” Quin said…. Some national groups now rank Tennessee’s trafficking penalties among the toughest anywhere. They say that with this crackdown, the next challenge will be how to help the growing number of victims who are coming out of trafficking.
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Note: A list of the 36 laws, compiled by EndSlavery-Tennessee, is HERE.