Straight Talk with Human Trafficking Coordinating Council; setting up a 5-year plan with the Office of the Attorney General to combat human trafficking. That plan involves massive coordination efforts with local law enforcement, school districts, and state agencies to establish consistency across the state. Human trafficking, like any disease, can still take hold and thrive if given a single place to fester, so statewide consistency is the key.
The Advocate spent some time with Texas District 20 Rep. Terry Wilson— who insisted we call him Terry—to ask some tough questions from our readers. Rep. Wilson adds, “I’m happy to do it; every chance I have to talk to the people of District 20 is an honor.”
Advocate: First, we’d like to ask about the movement to “Defund the Police”. You served on the Criminal Jurisprudence committee in your first session and worked across party lines on several criminal justice reform bills. What is your position on the Defund movement, and how has your experience in the legislature shaped that position? Rep Wilson: I support our police officers. There’s a phrase you will hear in every legislative session, regardless of topic or party affiliation of the member saying it; “Let’s go after the bad actors.” When we punish an entire group for the actions of a few, we do a disservice to the people we serve. Liberal leaders, even in Texas, have openly declared their support for cutting police department budgets, in a time when crime statistics are ticking upward. Doing so, or even cutting police departments entirely, is a nuclear option that leaves our communities vulnerable to the evils that law enforcement works so hard to protect us from; property crime all the way to human trafficking. A: Human trafficking has been a major issue in the legislature the last few sessions. What impact would the Defund movement have on that effort, and what has the legislature done to combat human trafficking? TW: Texas has, regrettably, become the second-largest state for sex trafficking. Numbers from the Office of the Attorney General say Texas has approximately 234,000 victims of labor trafficking and 79,000 victims of youth and minor sex trafficking at any given time. In 2019 the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 72, authored by Senator Jane Nelson, which established a 10
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Look at the City of Dallas; since 2005, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) provided cities in the DFW area with $1,450,000 in hopes to put an end to human trafficking. Why? Dallas ranks 9th among US cities for cases of human trafficking, and the BJA’s mission is to strengthen law enforcement agencies with more resources. They ensure tools and training needed to end modern-day slavery are in the hands of those on the front line—but they are only a part of the whole picture. Fully-funded police departments are still needed to truly combat human trafficking as well as other crimes, and the city of Dallas has been entertaining the idea of defunding the police. If we allow liberal democratic leadership, as is the case in Dallas, to pull a political stunt—defund these efforts because of a few bad actors—our children, the innocent, and the vulnerable will pay the price. A: So, if you do not support defunding the police, what measures do you support to combat the issue of the bad actors within police departments? TW: Support means providing people with what they need, letting them focus on what’s important, and holding them accountable when things go wrong. I do think we put too much on the backs of our law enforcement officers. In many of our larger cities, whole departments; e.g., Animal Control have been eliminated, placing those duties on law enforcement without funding to cover it. Meanwhile, our police officers are on the front lines of societal battles with violent crime, drug trafficking, and more, being paid a minimal amount to operate at full steam from day one. We must ensure the division of duty exists to allow law enforcement to focus on the stated tasks of those departments. Finally, we must hold accountable those who would abuse their positions and ensure that the bad actors are rooted out. A: You mentioned child safety in response to the human trafficking issue. While schools are an important part of combating human trafficking, most parents these days are worried about the literal diseases that could impact their children when they go to school, rather than metaphorical ones. What are the priorities for the state as far as opening schools just a few weeks from now?
