Uber driver Frank Martino from Deerfield Beach in Florida is helping fight human trafficking victims through a new Uber and law enforcement initiative. The initiative is training Uber drivers to spot the tell-tale signs of human trafficking that are highly abundant in Florida. Over 4,500 human trafficking victims were rescued in the last 10 years, which is an average of 450 a year in Florida. These are only the victims that were rescued; there is a large percentage that was not.
The new Uber initiative will teach drivers how to spot alleged human trafficking activities, these signs might include the constant ride to a specific motel with young female passengers, or when a passenger is being coerced to travel to a specific location. If an Uber driver spots a potential human trafficking case, they should step aside, not get actively involved, but record and report the case to the local law enforcement as well as notify partners in the initiative such as the human trafficking hotline.
Martino stated that “I think it’s fantastic if it works if it saves one person it’s worth it.”
Becky Dymond, owner of a safe house in Palm Beach County for sex trafficking victims, told the press that it’s a brilliant idea, and hopes that all Uber drivers will get in on the action and start to report possible cases of human trafficking.