Ohio launched the first-ever statewide human trafficking hotline on Monday, marking the first statewide hotline to exist in the U.S. aside from the national human trafficking hotline.
The Ohio statewide hotline number – 844-END-OHHT (844-363-6448) – funnels incoming tips on suspected sex and labor trafficking directly to law enforcement, which allows callers to be connected to people experienced in investigating such allegations.
Ohio’s first statewide human trafficking hotline is now operational, AG Yost announced today. The non-emergency hotline number funnels incoming tips about suspected sex and labor trafficking directly to law enforcement.
Details: https://t.co/4uLVdIUCLf pic.twitter.com/G5ScTWiyrB— Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (@OhioAG) September 30, 2024
The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who announced the hotline last month at his office’s annual Human Trafficking Summit, said the new resource is a “much-needed tool in the fight against human trafficking,” adding, “Every phone call could be a lifeline to someone needing help.”
Yost also pointed out that the 24/7 hotline will allow law enforcement to “have a better shot at rescuing victims and bringing traffickers to justice” as they receive information and tips in real time.
The statewide hotline is operated by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).
Upon receiving information relayed by callers, BCI criminal intelligence analysts assess the information and refer intelligence to local law enforcement agencies, human trafficking task forces organized under the attorney general’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, and BCI’s Special Victims Unit.
The state’s rollout of the new hotline comes as the national human trafficking hotline – of which number is 1-888-373-7888 – has received 12,953 signals from the Buckeye State since its inception in 2007, identifying a total of 3,630 cases and 6,825 victims.
A majority of cases identified in Ohio by callers utilizing the national hotline are sex trafficking situations, with a majority of victims being females.
Since 2007, the national hotline has received about 432,902 communications, identifying 100,891 cases of human trafficking and 197,000 victims, according to data provided on its website.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Image “Ohio AG Dave Yost” by Ohio AG Office and “Emergency Call Center” by USDA.
