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How MIA Spots Human Traffickers And Their Victims

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The Code Kristi program at Miami International Airport to spot human traffickers and their victims has been in place since 2012.
 
It all came about when Ken Pyatt, the Deputy Director of Miami-Dade County's Aviation Department, and in charge of security, attended a fundraiser for Kristi House.
 
Kristi House is the county's child-advocacy arm that focuses on getting help for sexually abused children.
 
At the fundraiser was a young girl who once had been trafficked and exploited for sex.
 
She described how she was be forced in and out of airports and, while airport employees looked at her ticket and her luggage, they never really looked at her.
The implication was, if someone could just see that she was in trouble, maybe she could be rescued from this life.

That's when Kristi House executives say Pyatt decided his airport could be that someone. He wanted airport employees, even Miami-Dade County Police and federal Sky Marshals, trained to be those eyes.
 
Dawn Thompson is the Assistant Executive Director of Kristi House and the person who does the training.
 
Find out in her interview why tattoos can be a big clue when it comes to spotting a sex trafficking victim.

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