Boulder Highway is an area identified by Metro as a hotspot for prostitution and is frequently patrolled by officers. A woman is seen walking north on Boulder Highway north of Lamb Blvd. on Tuesday, October 30, 2012.
Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024 | 2 a.m.
While many around the world will have their eyes on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas hoping to catch some football or Usher’s halftime performance, one organization in Las Vegas will be keeping its eyes on the streets to help victims of sex trafficking.
Signs of HOPE, a nonprofit supporting survivors of sexual violence and human trafficking, is partnering with Metro Police to help curb an expected jump in human trafficking during the time period surrounding the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl 58 is Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium, and hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected in the days leading up to the game.
“We do focus a lot of our resources around these larger events because we know that there’s going to be an uptick in numbers,” said Kimberly Small, CEO of Signs of HOPE. “People are drinking and having a great time — and we want them to have a great time here in Las Vegas — but there’s also this perception of what happens here stays here, and anything goes here and prostitution is legal in Las Vegas, and that is not true.”
Through their Resources and Integration for Survivor Empowerment (RISE) program, Signs of Hope will be joining Metro’s vice division to identify and provide resources for victims of human trafficking.
They had previously worked with the law enforcement during Formula One’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix race in November. That effort resulted in more than 70 arrests and identifying 200 victims of trafficking, Metro said..
Small said there would be staff from the RISE program accompanying Metro officers in the field, but a majority of their efforts will be focused on their 24/7 Human Trafficking and Advocate Law Enforcement Response team (ALERT) hotlines.
An estimated 50 million people are trapped in human trafficking globally, said Sarah de Carvalho, CEO and Founder of It’s a Penalty — an international organization dedicated to ending human trafficking.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline, which “maintains one of the most extensive data sets” on human trafficking nationally, has identified 82,301 cases since its inception in 2007. Over 13,000 signals were received from victims or survivors of human trafficking in 2021 alone — the most recent year they have data.
Nevada is one of the top-10 states for trafficked and exploited youths, according to the Nevada Sustainability Alliance. In 2021, the National Human Trafficking Hotline was contacted 571 times about Nevada-related calls, with 201 cases identified here. The majority of those reports were regarding sex trafficking, with hotels or motels often being the venue where the trafficking took place.
Women of color are predominantly who Small sees come through Signs of HOPE as trafficking victims, she said. Children and teens that have been groomed make up many of the victims, she added.
Nevada’s market for commercial sex is the largest of any state per capita, according to a March 2022 study from Creighton University in Nebraska. About 5,000 individuals a month are trafficked for sex in Nevada, the report said.
“Human trafficking represents a threat to the fundamental rights of humans everywhere; it represents a threat in Nevada, in the United States, and around the world,” said Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford at a news event Monday morning. “Las Vegas is unique and has many unique issues that create an environment where human trafficking can occur at higher rates than in other places.”
Ford’s office has been involved with coordinating the State of Nevada Human Trafficking Coalition alongside the Division of Child and Family Services, which came about after lawmakers during the 2021 legislative session passed Senate Bill 143. Their meetings began in 2023, he said.
Ford echoed Small’s beliefs about the “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” mindset, and added that the region being an “international travel hub” made it susceptible to more trafficking crimes.
Despite what many believe, there is no definitive data that shows a significant increase of human trafficking during the Super Bowl, according to the McCain Institute, a nonpartisan organization affiliated with Arizona State University whose mission includes combating human trafficking.
Even Small acknowledged that RISE would likely find more victims of human trafficking if it had consistent resources throughout the year as they do for big events. Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill on Monday morning said human trafficking is “not a Super Bowl issue, (and) victims are trafficked 365 days in this city.”
But Small clarified that Signs of HOPE officials “have definitely seen an uptick” in human trafficking during large events, and they are preparing with Metro to combat an influx of cases next week. About 450,000 people are expected to descend on Las Vegas for Super Bowl weekend with an estimated $600 million projected economic impact, according to the Las Vegas Super Bowl Host Committee.
In addition to staffing the Signs of HOPE hotlines, McMahill said Metro was “beefing up survivor support, targeting buyers and pimps” and raising awareness.
“People come from all over the world to let their hair down and play, and that’s all well and good until that fun comes at the expense of a powerless human being,” McMahill said. “We want to disrupt and interrupt, investigate (and) incarcerate these individuals that are bringing down other human beings.”
Signs of HOPE and Metro are not the only ones gearing up to tackle human trafficking in Las Vegas next week.
At a media event Monday, It’s a Penalty announced the start of its 2024 Super Bowl campaign that will run through the end of February.
It will be the group’s 18th campaign during a major sporting event, and its seventh in Las Vegas, said de Carvalho.
A 30-second campaign film featuring Las Vegas Raiders President Sandra Douglass Morgan, defensive end Maxx Crosby and running back Josh Jacobs will appear on multiple airlines both domestically as well as internationally.
There will also be informative campaign materials in English and Spanish — including business cards with hotline numbers and a list of missing children in Southern Nevada — distributed throughout the Strip in casinos, taxicabs and rideshare vehicles, said de Carvalho.
Local organizations, like Signs of HOPE and the Be a S.H.E.R.O. Foundation, have helped pack hundreds of essential care kits for human trafficking survivors.
But perhaps the largest effort will be educating employees at Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts Wynn Resort properties. De Carvalho said the organizations would be training up to 200 MGM employees on Tuesday about human trafficking prevention leading up to the Super Bowl.
The Red Umbrella Collective, which describes itself as “a grassroots network led by and for sex workers in Las Vegas,” released a statement Tuesday condemning police stings during the Super Bowl.
In its letter, the Red Umbrella Collective said law enforcement agencies used anti-trafficking campaigns as “an excuse to round-up sex workers, primarily people of color, immigrants and the unhoused during large sporting events.”
“Law enforcement, in concert with faith-based rescue groups and anti-trafficking non-profits, are using human trafficking campaigns as an excuse to arrest sex workers trying to make a living,” said Victoria Parra, a Las Vegas-based writer and organizer, in the statement. “These are not rescue missions, but morality-fueled vice campaigns that devastate the lives of sex workers. This (February) 11, sex workers are refusing to be exploited by law enforcement and government agencies in order to secure greater publicity and funding for their departments.”
Although prostitution is legal in Nevada through regulated and licensed brothels, it is limited to counties with populations of less than 700,000 people, which meansit is illegal in Clark County.
Anyone in the community can help prevent human trafficking by remembering to “see something, say something,” said Small. Some signs of a possible human trafficking situation are a lack of eye contact, constant need to be on the phone or consistent silence.
Small added that people should even be aware of odd-looking situations, such as when a young child is being picked up by an older person, especially if the child seems unfamiliar with them.
Members of the public looking for assistance with a human trafficking case can call the hotline at (702) 936-4004. Those wanting to report a possible trafficking case can reach Metro’s non-emergency line at (702) 828-3111.
