Houston Republic

In order to crack down on human trafficking offenses, the Houston City Council has made some changes to hotel procedures. 

According to Patch, the Houston City Council recently approved of an ordinance which will require hotels to offer training to their employees to spot the signs of human trafficking. 

The decision comes at a time when COVID-19 has led to more children spending time online at home, where they might fall prey to traffickers who try to recruit new victims or individuals who are looking for work.

The ordinance has three requirements. First, all employees must be trained on sex and labor trafficking and second, the training must be certified as conducted beginning March 31, 2021 to the Administration of Regulatory Affairs on an annual basis. Finally, hotels are required to post signage with trafficking indicators as well as a tip line for local law enforcement in the case of suspected trafficking.

"The hotel ordinance empowers employees to report potential trafficking; my office stands ready to use every tool available to combat trafficking and ensure that we increase victim identification," Mayor Sylvester Turner said. "Increasing the number of eyes and ears we have is critical when it comes to intervening on behalf of our most vulnerable people and children."