CACEO is excited to announce its partnership with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Blue Campaign, designed to assist CACEO members with training and resources to combat human trafficking.
Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain labor or commercial sex. Victims can be any age, race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, or socioeconomic background. Every year, millions of men, women, and children are trafficked in countries throughout the world, including the U.S.
Human trafficking is a “hidden crime” in that victims rarely come forward to seek help because of language barriers, fear of traffickers, or fear of the criminal justice system. The Blue Campaign and CACEO partnership supports ongoing educational programming on combatting human trafficking.
The partnership between the two organizations was launched on February 7, 2022 with an informational webinar focused on how code enforcement officers can play a role in recognizing and reporting human trafficking.
“CACEO is proud to partner with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on the Blue Campaign,” said CACEO President Jamie Zeller. “Code Enforcement Officers are on the front lines working in the field each day in a variety of scenarios where human trafficking exists. This partnership will give the victims another voice, a safe place or person to go to if they are being taking advantage of.”
CACEO represents more than 1,800 code enforcement officers across California. The organization’s mission is to promote and advance the profession of code enforcement while serving and supporting its members by offering comprehensive education and certification; providing legislative advocacy on issues of importance to the code enforcement profession; and facilitating a network for an exchange of information and technology.
“The Blue Campaign is excited to announce the partnership with CACEO,” said Brandi Bynum, Blue Campaign Program Manager. “Code Enforcement Officers are in a unique position to potentially interact with victims of this horrific crime which often goes unreported. It’s through partnerships like this one with CACEO that we can better protect our communities and those most vulnerable.”
Located within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Partnership and Engagement, Blue Campaign leverages partnerships with the private sector, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), law enforcement, and state/local authorities to maximize national public engagement in anti-human trafficking efforts. Blue Campaign’s educational awareness objectives consist of two foundational elements: prevention of human trafficking and protection of exploited persons.
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