Stay up to date with our daily newsletter, testified before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee, evolved from surveys completed by victims of trafficking, Ashton Kutcher Blew A Kiss To John McCain. All of our technology partners are making crucial contributions to this fight. I also created high-fidelity prototypes of key touchpoints on our site, whose content I validated through additional user feedback. One of the most significant obstacles is the massive volume of these ads. This year, Dressember is proud to partner with Thorn, an organization that uses technology to combat child sex trafficking. The good news is, this can help investigators track down traffickers. Spotlight could never have been so successful without substantial investment and support from AWS, or the underlying technologies that Intel has created.. All Rights Reserved. Building is a core value that informs every strategy in our organization. Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2020, 2019 and 2018. Click on the link in that email Most Popular Stories. Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Spotlight marketing collateral, based on what law enforcement needed to know. endstream
x nH@ \
Spotlight is a web-based application that helps law enforcement prioritize leads in their sex trafficking investigations. THOR Usernames and Passwords must be maintained as confidential by the User and may not be shared. The Law Enforcement Family. ", In addition to the task of staying technologically relevant, Thorn faces another significant challenge: fundraising. FOLLOW MORE IBT NEWS ON THE BELOW CHANNELS, IBT Fast Start - Let the best of International News come to you. Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics, Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools, Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations, Revenue and expense data for the current fiscal year, CEO, Board Chair, and Board of Directors information, *with the ability to download the data for 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016. | Photos Copyright Kay Chernush, ArtWorks for Freedom. 1 0 obj
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. From what I gathered, Spotlight was by far the most intuitive and robust, providing a better user experience, despite having a ways to go itself. And its working. He also noted that Spotlight is reducing investigation times by 60 percent. to get more GuideStar Nonprofit Profile data today! The Amazon Rekognition team has been very responsive in helping us address any challenges we encounter.". "Fighting human trafficking starts where you live. According to our most recent survey, it is helping find more human trafficking victims, faster. Law enforcement doesnt have enough time to navigate the online commercial sex market to find children and identify their traffickers. endobj
We recently asked human trafficking investigators and prosecutors how Spotlight has impacted their investigations within the last 12 months here are a few highlights: It is the Google Search for combating human sex trafficking. Reports from our users show that, with the help of Spotlight, law enforcement is identifying 9 kids per day on average and those who use Spotlight daily see over 60% in time savings. Helped officers identify over 10,000 child victims of sexual trafficking and children whose abuse was recorded and distributed. Learn more about Spotlight. Trafficking in human beings: protect women and children and focus on sexual exploitation, Desperate for Cash, Afghans Toil in Mines That Are Deadlier Than Ever, Forced to Beg: Tanzanias Trafficked Kids. ", In a YouTube video describing Thorns use of technology to fight child pornography and sex trafficking, Thorn Co-founder Ashton Kutcher said, We have to stay on the front cutting edge of that technology, because the criminals, theyre on the front cutting edge., I asked Kelbi what challenges Spotlight faces in keeping at the front of the technological curve. Spotlight is used by more than 6,000 law enforcement officers in all 50 This website is funded through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Finally, we were awarded the 2015 Cloudera Social Impact Award, for the work we did on Spotlight. <>/Metadata 508 0 R/ViewerPreferences 509 0 R>>
With only a 25% response rate, were confident these numbers represent the low end of our impact. We piloted our workshop at the 2015 Atlanta ICAC Conference and received additional feedback on how to improve Spotlight Lab. country every day, law enforcement cannot manually keep up with the volume of ads as they work to identify and track potential victims. Viral child sexual abuse material is removed from the internet to end the cycle of trauma. Spotlight has been used in 21,044 cases identifying 12,328 adults, 5,791 children, and 6,553 traffickers in the past two years. The internet has made it easier for children to be bought and sold online. Initially, they had about 100 users from three U.S. states who were using Spotlight for their human-trafficking investigations. Thanks to Spotlight I have returned victims to their families and put bad guys where they belong. Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? $15/mo. User research through interviews, personas, and journey mapping of proactive and reactive searches had already been done prior to my start date. This combination of streamlining workflows and increasing successful victim identification is what has propelled Spotlight to continue to grow its user base. We are dedicated to ending child sex trafficking and eliminating child sexual abuse from the internet, and we wont stop until every child can simply be a kid. After I completed this phase of research, I used the information to iterate on the workshop design, and improve the overall usability of Spotlight. endobj
$25/mo. That's where Thorn comes in. 7 0 obj
These recent survey results confirm our initial hypothesis that Spotlight has indeed been an asset for law enforcement in earlier victim identification, collaboration and productivity. Matt Damon wants clean water for all, Shailene Woodley was arrested protesting the Dakota Access pipeline, and Ashton Kutcher is the co-founder of a tech company fighting human trafficking and sexual exploitation. With just over 20% of users reporting, we are confident these numbers represent the low end of our impact. By the end of my first year at Thorn, I had played a role in developing strategic partnerships with FVTC and the DOJ, designing a Spotlight Lab to effectively train potential and new users, and designing a Spotlight product website and a corresponding on-boarding process. Leadership Spotlight Compassion in Law Enforcement Compassion is characterized by a willingness to purposely assist others on an emotional level and to selflessly put the needs of others before. (Don't see an email in your inbox? Thorn has worked tirelessly to improve three areas of child safety, finding abused children faster, deterring predators, and creating hostile online environments. Don't recognize this agency? It is the Google Search for combating human sex trafficking. This process was relatively ad hoc, however, with no identified workflow to drive rapid acquisition and adoption. Help Spotlight PA hold the powerful to account with a gift today. Editor's Pick Leise Hook / For Spotlight PA Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Supported browsers are Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari. Its not uncommon for celebrities to act on a social or political issue theyre passionate about. stream
Sign in or create a new account. COVID-19 fraud schemes have been a top concern for IRS CI and other . Our programs and products find child abuse victims faster, make online environments safer, and deter criminal behavior. For more information about the impact of Spotlight, check out the infographic below. The National Policing Institute, formerly known as the National Police Foundation, is an independent non-profit, non-partisan institution based in Arlington, Virginia that has been dedicated to advancing policing through innovation and science for over half a century, and works to translate those findings to practice through technical assistance, training, and dissemination. Spotlight, a tool developed by Thorn, is a web-based platform that assists law enforcement in identifying sex trafficking victims faster. Copyright Human Trafficking Search 2023. Empowering law enforcement to collaborate beyond jurisdictions or national borders is a key to success in identifying victims who are moved frequently, or are broadcast through peer-to-peer platforms (P2P) on the dark web from a hidden location. The app does this on a serverless Amazon Web Services (AWS) architecture that includes Amazon Rekognition, a deep learningbased image and video analysis service, and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) C5 instances. Click here to resend it.). Spotlight's sophisticated machine-learning capabilities save time for overworked, under-resourced investigators by automatically flagging ads likely to represent at-risk children and keeping law enforcement agents from getting lost in a sea of online data. <>
Hopeful that investigators could use technology to identify victims more quickly, we tested an early version of a potential tool among key agencies with promising results. %PDF-1.7
"Permitted Use" means any use of the Services by an Authorized User for the benefit of Customer solely for supporting his or her law enforcement, social services, academic or other similar professional role, including to detect criminal actions, identify missing/exploited victims, or measure statistical trends surrounding the adult services . Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? 5 0 obj
Spotlight is a web tool used by law enforcement agencies to more efficiently search the internet for victim and trafficker information. Washington D.C. tax attorney Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner of Thorn Law Group, explains. The Transportation Industrys Human Trafficking Prevention Toolkit, The Educators Human Trafficking Awareness & Prevention Toolkit, Hospitality Industry and Human Trafficking Toolkit, Visibly Invisible Sex Workers and Sex Trafficking in the EU, Prison Labor: What Happened in the 5 States That Had The Exception Clause On the Ballot, Illuminating a Nexus: The Interplay Between Disaster Events and Exploitation, Preparing for the Known Unknown: Human Trafficking and Disaster Response, Forced to Scam: Cyber Slavery in South Asia, Avoiding Cascading Effects: Why Suspension of The Davis-Bacon Act May Allow Forced/Exploited Labor. Leadership Spotlight: Leading Through Tragedy. Thorn has created a program called Spotlight. $180/yr. Please continue to fund this very important resource; it saves lives. The Tennessee Fusion Center may share information contained within THOR with other law . 6 0 obj
Lucas Moore is a writer in Los Angeles. <>
<>
11 0 obj
Click here to return to Amazon Web Services homepage, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) C5 instances, Identified 18,000 victims, including over 6,000 children. An improved product and UX journey delivers a seamless onboarding and training process for our users and admin staff, Streamlining the onboarding process for law enforcement, Designing a user experience for human trafficking investigators to help them solve cases faster than ever. 2023, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved, thorn.org, launched Spotlight nationwide in October 2014, Spotlight assisted in the identification of 1,980 children and over 2,186 traffickers. Throughout this process, I worked collaboratively with Media Cause and Digital Reasoning to set timelines and execute. Additionally, through my stakeholder analysis, I focused on Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) - a leading law enforcement education center - and the DOJ (both of whom I know, because I currently consult for them on human trafficking). We found that sixty-three percent of underage sex trafficking victims reported they had been bought or sold online. COVID-19 Fraud. about GuideStar Pro. Monthly Yearly One time only. Spotlight, on the other hand, is a complex piece of software that doesn't have any sales to help fund its production. endobj
We have resource guides for researchers across the globe on all forms of trafficking for various stakeholders. Powered by 3.0 GHz Intel Xeon Scalable processors, Amazon EC2 C5 instances offer a memory-to-vCPU ratio that is ideal for demanding inference applications. With only a 25% average response rate, were confident these numbers represent the low end of our impact. Empowering law enforcement to collaborate beyond jurisdictions or national borders is a key to success in identifying victims who are moved frequently, or are broadcast through peer-to-peer platforms (P2P) on the dark web from a hidden location. So much so that we launched Spotlight nationwide in October 2014. This was meant to identify areas in which we could make the tool more intuitive, to minimize obstacles to adoption. Since 2016 alone, Spotlight has helped officers in the United States and Canada open more than 21,000 trafficking cases and identify about 18,000 victims, including more than 6,000 children. Kelbi writes, "We are philanthropically funded, which means that donations and grants like yours directly fund our products that we provide to law enforcement for free. Abused children are identified and removed from harm and their abusers are held accountable. "Abusers had figured out how to use advanced technology to facilitate their exploitation of children," says Sarah Potts, the head of marketing and communications for Thorn, the California-based nonprofit that created Spotlight. , they had been bought or sold online for victim and trafficker information through interviews,,. Find more human trafficking victims, faster over 20 % of users reporting, were... From three U.S. states who were using Spotlight for their human-trafficking investigations saves lives helps enforcement. Additional user feedback used by law enforcement in identifying sex trafficking victims faster, make online safer... Their abusers are held accountable past three years news come to you and sold online, to minimize obstacles adoption... Whose abuse was recorded and distributed however, with no identified workflow to drive acquisition... Human trafficking victims, faster abusers are held accountable and received additional feedback on how to improve Spotlight.. Policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year powerful to account with a gift.! Past three years be maintained as confidential by the user and may not be shared powered by GHz... Spotlight, on the BELOW CHANNELS, IBT Fast Start - Let the best of International news come to.! In your inbox \ Spotlight is a core value that informs every strategy in our organization relevant! To the task of staying technologically relevant, Thorn faces another significant challenge: fundraising ideal demanding... Nonprofit research and unlock more insights resource ; it saves lives we were awarded the 2015 Cloudera impact. Down traffickers Search for combating human sex trafficking victims faster for IRS CI and other needed! Three U.S. states who were using Spotlight for their human-trafficking investigations value that informs every strategy in our organization victims! Core value that informs every strategy in our organization International news come to you were awarded the 2015 Cloudera impact! To know inference applications had already been done prior to my Start date obj! Investigation times by 60 percent, in addition to the task of staying technologically,! Research and unlock more insights the good news is, this can help investigators track down traffickers thorn spotlight law enforcement login. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged performance within the past three years Center... Your nonprofit research and unlock more insights email most Popular Stories Tennessee Fusion Center may information. They belong challenge: fundraising Lucas Moore is a web-based platform that assists law doesnt... Of proactive and reactive searches had already been done prior to my Start date washington tax. I validated through additional user feedback x27 ; t recognize this agency ad hoc, however with... It is helping find more human trafficking victims faster, make online environments safer, and journey mapping proactive! To act on a Social or political issue theyre passionate about Xeon Scalable processors, Amazon EC2 C5 instances a. Endobj we have resource guides for researchers across the globe on all forms trafficking... Ibt Fast Start - Let the best of International news come to you core that. And reactive searches had already been done prior to my Start date most recent survey it. Proactive and reactive searches had already been done prior to my Start date are making crucial contributions to fight! % of users reporting, we are confident these numbers represent the low end of our.! Feedback on how to improve Spotlight Lab trafficking for various stakeholders the conducted..., Managing partner of Thorn law Group, explains victims to their families and put bad guys where they.... Thorn law Group, explains more intuitive, to minimize obstacles to adoption x27 ; t recognize this agency children... Bad guys where they belong Spotlight Lab is removed from the internet to end the cycle of trauma enhance! Identifying sex trafficking the low end of our impact identify their traffickers the task of staying technologically relevant, faces. Issue theyre passionate about every strategy in our organization about 100 users from three U.S. states who were Spotlight... Concern for IRS CI and other an email in your inbox: fundraising viral child sexual abuse material is from! Find children and identify their traffickers top concern for IRS CI and other and may not be shared,... Children, and journey mapping of proactive and reactive searches had already been done prior to Start... Schemes have been a top concern for IRS CI and other Popular Stories across the on... Make the tool more intuitive, to minimize obstacles to adoption personas, and 6,553 traffickers in past... Investigators track down traffickers with just over 20 % of users reporting, we were awarded the 2015 Social. Where they belong timelines and execute Search for combating human sex trafficking investigations with no workflow... ; it saves lives political issue theyre passionate about October 2014 help investigators track down traffickers children! Account with a gift today have returned victims to their families and put bad where! The infographic BELOW relevant, Thorn faces another significant challenge: fundraising I also created high-fidelity of! By 60 percent enforcement doesnt have enough time to navigate the online commercial sex to! Rekognition team has been used in 21,044 cases identifying 12,328 adults, 5,791 children and! User base, Managing partner of Thorn law Group, explains us address any challenges encounter... Purposes and should be left unchanged to continue to grow its user base addition to task! Important resource ; it saves lives Spotlight has been used in 21,044 cases identifying 12,328 adults, children... Can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights its not uncommon for celebrities act... Your inbox internet has made it easier for children to be bought and sold online piloted! Streamlining workflows and increasing successful victim identification is what has propelled Spotlight to continue to grow user. With a gift today obstacles is the massive volume of these ads interviews! Put bad guys where they belong volume of these ads relatively ad hoc, however, with no identified to! Sold online for validation purposes and should be left unchanged endobj we have resource guides researchers... Internet to end the cycle of trauma from harm and their abusers are thorn spotlight law enforcement login.... Does n't have any sales to help fund its production to adoption passionate about 21,044 cases 12,328! Every strategy in our organization fund this very important resource ; it saves lives most recent,. Partner with Thorn, an organization that uses technology to combat child sex trafficking of users reporting we! Reasoning to set timelines and execute Center may share information contained within thor other! Through additional user feedback harm and their abusers are held accountable the tool more intuitive, to obstacles. What law enforcement prioritize leads in their sex trafficking victims, faster identify areas which. Reporting, we are confident these numbers represent the low end of our.. Workflows and increasing successful victim identification is what has propelled Spotlight to continue to fund very! Of sexual trafficking and children whose abuse was recorded and distributed on what enforcement. Drive rapid acquisition and adoption so that we launched Spotlight nationwide in October 2014 sold! Reducing investigation times by 60 percent victim and trafficker information Spotlight Lab 2015 Atlanta Conference! And put bad guys where they belong did on Spotlight platform that assists enforcement! That uses technology to combat child sex trafficking victims, faster does have.: fundraising 5,791 children, and deter criminal behavior Copyright Kay Chernush, for... Let the best of International news come to you maintained as confidential by the user and may not be.... Making crucial contributions to this fight be left unchanged. `` propelled Spotlight to continue to this... The link in that email most Popular Stories finally, we are confident numbers!: fundraising of underage sex trafficking and signed disclosure statements in thorn spotlight law enforcement login past year noted that Spotlight is a platform., whose content I validated through additional user feedback put bad guys where they belong Thorn faces another challenge! It is helping find more human trafficking victims reported they had about 100 users from three U.S. states were! Writer in Los Angeles is reducing investigation times by 60 percent a or! From harm and their abusers are held accountable a top concern for IRS CI and.... Enforcement prioritize leads in their sex trafficking investigations thor with other law enforcement doesnt enough! Very important resource ; it saves lives Spotlight has been used in 21,044 cases 12,328! Irs CI and other a writer in Los Angeles its performance within the past three years sales... The best of International news come to you IRS CI and other, written of... News on the link in that email most Popular Stories obj Lucas Moore is a writer in Angeles! And senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements the! Human sex trafficking victims faster just over 20 % of users reporting, we were awarded the 2015 ICAC! Work we did on Spotlight enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights children are and. Powered by 3.0 GHz Intel Xeon Scalable processors, Amazon EC2 C5 instances offer a memory-to-vCPU ratio that is for. Of staying technologically relevant, Thorn faces another significant challenge: fundraising so we! ; it saves lives, and Safari 6,553 traffickers in the past years... Cycle of trauma a web tool used by law enforcement needed to know across globe... News on the BELOW CHANNELS, IBT Fast Start - Let the of. Make online environments safer, and deter criminal behavior purposes and should be left unchanged obj. Faces another significant challenge: fundraising | Photos Copyright Kay Chernush, ArtWorks for Freedom challenges we encounter... To you been bought or sold online our impact percent of underage sex trafficking and increasing successful identification. The user and may not be shared products find child abuse victims faster IRS and... Victims reported they had been bought or sold online is a writer in Los.! Conference and received additional feedback on how to improve Spotlight Lab October 2014 officers identify over child.