Virginia Code 15.2-1627.6: Coordination of multidisciplinary response to human trafficking.
A. The attorney for the Commonwealth in each political subdivision in the Commonwealth shall coordinate the establishment of a multidisciplinary response to human trafficking as set forth in Article 3 (§ 18.2-346 et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 18.2 and hold a meeting, at least annually, to (i) discuss implementation of protocols and policies for human trafficking response teams consistent with those established by the Department of Criminal Justice Services pursuant to subdivision 37 d of § 9.1-102; (ii) establish and review guidelines for the community’s response to the various forms of human trafficking, including sex trafficking and labor trafficking; and (iii) review protocols for the trauma-informed, victim-centered collection, preservation, and secure storage of evidence from physical evidence recovery kit examinations consistent with § 19.2-165.1.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 15.2-1627.6
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
B. The following persons or their designees shall be invited to participate in the annual meeting: the attorney for the Commonwealth; a representative of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission in jurisdictions served by a public defender office; the sheriff; the director of the local sexual assault crisis center providing services in the jurisdiction, if any; the chief of each police department and the chief of each campus police department of any institution of higher education in the jurisdiction, if any; a forensic nurse examiner or other health care provider who performs physical evidence recovery kit examinations in the jurisdiction, if any; a health professional knowledgeable in the treatment of trauma-informed, victim-centered services; a social worker knowledgeable in the needs of immigrant communities; the state Sex Trafficking Response Coordinator or his designee; a representative from at least one national or local organization that supports victims of human trafficking; at least one survivor of human trafficking; the director of the victim/witness program in the jurisdiction, if any; a division superintendent or his designee from at least one of the local school divisions; and a labor union representative knowledgeable about labor trafficking. In addition, the attorney for the Commonwealth may invite other individuals, or their designees, to participate in the annual meeting, including (i) local health department district directors; (ii) the administrator of each licensed hospital within the jurisdiction; (iii) the director of each health safety net clinic within the jurisdiction, including those clinics created by 42 C.F.R. § 491.1 and the free and charitable clinics; (iv) local administrators in charitable clinics or local hospitals, as well as other health care providers or local nonprofit organizations working with victims of trafficking; and (v) as determined by the attorney for the Commonwealth, any other local health care providers.
C. Attorneys for the Commonwealth are authorized to conduct the human trafficking response team annual meetings using other methods to encourage attendance, including electronic communication means as provided in § 2.2-3708.3.
2024, c. 366.