Human trafficking remains a serious problem worldwide, victimizing juveniles, immigrants, and other vulnerable populations. As a valuable partner to law enforcement, LeoTech is committed to ending this unlawful exploitation by leveraging decades of expertise and advanced technology tools, including its patented Verus communications analysis platform, along with the CLEAR investigative solution from Thomson Reuters.
Connecting the dots
Bobbie Mason, a Verus project manager specializing in human trafficking, says her team analyzes authorized communications by prison inmates seeking women or girls to groom.
“I run that information through CLEAR to verify it,” Mason explains. “I have discovered cases where one inmate would be working seven or eight girls, most of whom were juveniles.”
Using CLEAR enhances investigative context, offering detailed insights and connections across key data points. Investigators can pivot from a data point to related pieces of information, advancing leads. Mason says this capability is immensely helpful.
“I use CLEAR every day to confirm information, whether it’s phone numbers, addresses, or social media activity,” she says. “This gives investigators a bigger picture of what’s really going on.”
Speed and efficiency
According to Mason, the process of creating reports for law enforcement is quick and easy. While it’s difficult to quantify the time savings, she says it’s a “game changer” in terms of generating accurate, actionable intelligence quickly.
“Using CLEAR, I can retrieve detailed information on each victim quickly and easily.”
Reliable intelligence
Mason says CLEAR delivers meaningful insights that would otherwise be elusive.
“There are things I found that I didn’t recognize before,” she says, noting that she has complete confidence in the information provided. All source data is transparent and readily accessed, enabling users to evaluate its strength.
“The information I get from CLEAR confirms that I’m on the right path and that I’m giving our law enforcement partners the information they need to conduct their investigation,” she says. “It’s almost like I’m out there on the street with them because I know I’m giving them accurate and reliable information. In all the investigations I’ve conducted using CLEAR, nothing has ever indicated the information was incorrect.”
A group effort, a personal mission
Mason emphasizes that combating human trafficking is a collaborative effort across all levels of LeoTech's public safety agency partners. However, the work is also intensely personal for Mason.
“I don’t like to see people abused in this way, so I take it to heart,” she says. “I strive to make the information I provide as strong as possible for the victims. I want to do my part to help locate victims and ensure the guilty do their time, and CLEAR helps me in that effort.”
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters is a leading provider of business information services. Our products include highly specialized information-enabled software and tools for legal, tax, accounting, and compliance professionals, combined with the world’s most global news service — Reuters.
Visit us for more information on Thomson Reuters, and for the latest world news, Reuters.
