January is recognized as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month in the United States.

For the past eight years, the EPPD has made human trafficking prevention and enforcement one of our top priorities.

Last November, Eden Prairie hosted a human trafficking detail along with the Bloomington and Plymouth Police Departments and the West Metro Drug Task Force. During the detail, a woman who responded to a fake ad placed by law enforcement for commercial sex, admitted that the man who dropped her off was grooming her for prostitution work and that she was afraid of him. Officers found the man after he fled both in a car and then on foot and arrested him. The woman met with advocates and was given assistance.

Investigators from Eden Prairie collaborate with law enforcement personnel from Bloomington, Richfield, Minnetonka, Plymouth and Maple Grove as part of the “494 Corridor Group” with the goal to investigate crimes related to human trafficking along I-494 and to recover human trafficking victims. In 2024 that group made 34 recoveries and three sex-buyer arrests during sting operations.

We are fortunate to have several community groups donate funding and supplies for comfort kits for human trafficking victims that include basic necessities such as food, clothing, gas cards, person hygiene products and hand-knit hats.

If you or someone you know is being sexually exploited or trafficked please call 911 or the MN Day One Crisis Line at 1-866-223-1111.