This year marks the Kentucky Derby’s 150th anniversary. With thousands of visitors expected to visit the commonwealth, officials are on the lookout for human trafficking.
During his Team Kentucky address this week, Governor Andy Beshear said it is important to report anything suspicious.
“In the past they have put out some signs to look for, now the experts are saying there isn’t any one sign, here is what you need to do, if you see something that is off, and you can feel that it is off, and if you look at it and you know something is wrong, make a call.”
The governor said he wants Kentuckians to remain vigilant during the commonwealth’s biggest sports weekend.
“So be on the lookout, we don’t want, what is our big weekend, to show everything great about us to the world marred, by people being hurt, taken advantage of, and abused in terrible ways.”
The Human Trafficking Hotline is available at 1-888-373-7888 and if the situation looks urgent, call 9-1-1. In 2022 alone, Kentucky received 344 reports of human trafficking involving 399 child victims.
This is a 67 percent increase in reports and 71 percent increase in victims compared to 2020. More information on how to report potential human trafficking can be found here.
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