Late one evening, a detective’s phone buzzes.
A Polaris-trained Hotline advocate is on the line, calm and composed, with an urgent trafficking situation to report.
A young woman has called the National Human Trafficking Hotline from a hotel just off the interstate.
She’s scared. She’s not alone, and she’s worried about what will happen if she tries to leave. She’s shared just enough to suggest coercion, movement across state lines, and someone withholding her ID to control her. She spotted a sign with the Hotline number and made the call in a rare moment of privacy.
This account is a composite story, drawn from multiple situations reported to the Hotline, to illustrate how information flows and partnerships work in practice.
The advocate provides the detective with critical context:
- The survivor’s immediate safety concerns, including her fear of uniformed officers at the door. Many survivors have had past encounters with law enforcement or have been threatened with arrest by their traffickers.
- Others present at her location, both those potentially at risk and those complicit in her abuse.
- Local support services identified by the Hotline advocate, in case she accepts help.
The Response
The details the Hotline provides help law enforcement assess the situation faster, prioritize threats, and act with greater precision and safety.
With that call from the Hotline advocate, the detective knows this isn’t just a tip — it’s actionable intelligence. Since 2020, the Hotline has reported nearly 14,000 situations of potential trafficking to our law enforcement partners, leading to meaningful, coordinated investigations.
Backed by nearly 20 years of partnership with survivors and law enforcement, the Hotline helps flag key risks and coordinate care, giving officers insight and resources before they arrive on scene. It’s a model built with law enforcement collaboration to strengthen operations and increase safety for everyone involved.
Within hours, officers respond to the location, informed by details from the Hotline advocate, including information voluntarily shared by the survivor and contact information for local victim service providers. Polaris maintains a national database of trusted, vetted service providers to ensure victims are connected to real support, in real time.
Law enforcement moves swiftly: securing the scene, collecting evidence to build a strong case, and making an arrest. The survivor isn’t left to navigate the aftermath alone. She’s connected to a trained advocate and, when ready, brought to a safe location with food, clothing, and a safe bed waiting.
In this case, coordinated action takes a trafficker off the streets and safely connects a survivor to support on her first steps toward freedom and healing.
It doesn’t always unfold this smoothly. But when it works, it’s because everyone — Hotline advocates, law enforcement, and service providers — is in sync.
The Hotline’s ability to share clear, timely, and actionable information isn’t accidental. Reports and referrals are backed by a robust infrastructure built over nearly two decades of collaboration with trusted law enforcement contacts and service providers.
As of early 2025, the Hotline maintains 1,681 active law enforcement contacts and 282 location- and topic-specific reporting protocols, covering situations like forced marriage, for example. And that’s just one part of the picture: Polaris also partners with approximately 1,200 vetted service providers nationwide to connect survivors with safe housing, legal advocacy, medical care, and more.
Sign up to learn more about human trafficking and how you can help
Why This Matters
These coordinated responses don’t just protect survivors. They equip investigators with reliable information, reduce response time, and help build stronger cases that stand up in court.
For law enforcement, the Hotline is a partner that:
- Delivers actionable, high-quality tips that save time and resources.
- Centers survivor safety so interventions don’t retraumatize victims.
- Connects officers to trusted local service providers to ensure immediate care.
The context victims and survivors voluntarily share with Polaris’s Hotline advocates — statements, timelines, patterns of control — often becomes the foundation for building cases. These details can mean the difference between an investigation that stalls and one that delivers justice in court.
The Bigger Picture
In 2024 alone, the Hotline identified nearly 12,000 trafficking situations and more than 21,800 victims. Many of those cases moved forward thanks to direct collaboration with law enforcement, turning calls into investigations, and investigations into accountability.
Where outcomes were known to Polaris, 71% of law enforcement referrals led to investigations. That’s the power of trust, coordination, and experience.
The bottom line: When the Hotline calls, law enforcement knows it’s not just a lead — it’s a lifeline. For the survivor. For the investigation. For the community.
And it’s made possible by supporters who believe that justice starts with listening and acting together.
Stop human trafficking today
Help fix the broken systems that make trafficking possible so we can prevent it from happening in the first place.
