Executive Summary
- January marked as National Human Trafficking Awareness Month in Northeast Florida.
- Coalition includes Mayor Donna Deegan, State Attorney Melissa Nelson, and regional Sheriffs.
- Strategy prioritizes victim support, community education, and offender accountability.
- Leaders form a unified front to combat trafficking across county lines.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Officials from across Northeast Florida convened on Monday to recognize National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, announcing a coordinated regional strategy to combat human exploitation and support survivors.
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, alongside State Attorney Melissa Nelson, led a coalition of law enforcement agencies to outline the multi-jurisdictional approach. According to the organizers, the initiative focuses on three core pillars: supporting victims and survivors, preventing future exploitation through community education, and aggressively pursuing offenders.
The unified front includes leadership from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO), represented by Director Ed Cayenne Jr., St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick, and Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook. The officials emphasized the necessity of inter-agency cooperation to address trafficking operations that frequently span county lines.
Public Safety Impact
The convergence of municipal leadership and tri-county law enforcement highlights the evolving nature of anti-trafficking operations in Florida. By moving beyond isolated investigations to a shared resource model, Northeast Florida agencies are positioning themselves to better track illicit networks that often rely on jurisdictional fragmentation to evade detection. This comprehensive strategy, balancing strict enforcement with victim-centric support systems, represents a critical shift in addressing the complexities of modern human trafficking.
