Law enforcement doesnt have enough time to navigate the online commercial sex market to find children and identify their traffickers. Spotlight evolved from surveys completed by victims of trafficking that showed 63 percent of underage victims were bought or sold online at some point. A verification email has been sent to you. We are only one player in a critical ecosystem working on behalf of our children. Officers who login weekly report a time savings of 60% in their human trafficking investigations. SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 6/9/2021. Thorn Helps Law Enforcement Identify Child Sex-Trafficking Victims Faster on AWS. The Law Enforcement Family. In Wednesdays hearing Kutcher discussed the wide use of the dark web by traffickers, and the difficulties law enforcement officials face in navigating the expanse of content. Top 5 IRS CI Enforcement Priorities. $10/mo. We reached out to her for more information about Spotlight. Thorn runs the countrys most extensive online deterrence program, communicating directly with people searching for CSAM, disrupting their sense of anonymity and encouraging them to seek help. Supported browsers are Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari. Somewhere in that pile of data are children who are bought and sold online for sex. My background in law enforcement and anti-human trafficking was well suited for the needs of Spotlight when I first joined the team. 6 0 obj Furthermore, by making sure users were engaged and properly trained, user surveys have shown that Spotlight has since been able to reduce the time it takes to investigate a human trafficking case by 43%, identified close to 2,000 children, and over 2,000 traffickers. Thorn was founded in 2012 by Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore to combat online child abuse. x Om7 ' Spotlight is a robust search tool that uses machine learning to help law enforcement identify victims of trafficking online. Armed with this data, we worked with our technology partners and law enforcement to understand how these existing digital footprints could assist law enforcement in faster victim identification. Sign In. "Day to day, we strive to balance hard work with care for ourselves and each other so that we have the resiliency we need to keep fighting," Kelbi writes, "At Thorn, we are invested in a team wellness plan where we carve out time to discuss how were feeling and how were approaching our work. The Amazon Rekognition team has been very responsive in helping us address any challenges we encounter.". We piloted our workshop at the 2015 Atlanta ICAC Conference and received additional feedback on how to improve Spotlight Lab. 2016-2022 National Policing Institute -Privacy Policy-Documents in PDF format require Adobe Acrobat Reader, Spotlight A Tool to Improve Sex Trafficking Investigations, Documents in PDF format require Adobe Acrobat Reader. Moreover, users wanted to learn from a law enforcement investigator currently using our tool - so we made sure to co-teach with a superuser. Learn More Most Popular Stories. Over the past year, reports show that we are identifying on average 8 kids per dayand that law enforcement who use Spotlight daily see a 65% time savings in their process. "Our law enforcement partners say Spotlight helps officers identify child sex-trafficking ads much faster than the old paper-and-pencil methods," says Brooke Istook, director of strategy and operations at Thorn. Spotlight is a web-based application that helps law enforcement prioritize leads in their sex trafficking investigations. We choose to use it for good. 8 0 obj One of the most significant obstacles is the massive volume of these ads. Julie was raised in Lindsay, California, a small farming community in Californias Central Valley. While learning the ins and outs of Spotlight, and shipping features from our product backlog, I began to focus on ways to improve our on-boarding process for increased acquisition and adoption. Used by officers in all 50 states and Canada, our web-based tool has helped in identifying 17,092 child victims of human trafficking in the past four years. Learn more about Amazon EC2 C5 Instances. endobj Thorn Helps Law Enforcement Identify Child Sex-Trafficking Victims Faster on AWS Answering the Challenge Using AWS <> "We tested multiple facial-recognition services and found Amazon Rekognition was extremely accurate," says Kristin Boorse, the director of product management for Thorn. The solution uses Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) to send alerts to law enforcement agents. However, the following six districts Email or Username. "It didn't make sense to build our own facial-recognition service when AWS already offers a best-in-breed solution like Amazon Rekognition. Thorn also works to speed the identification of children featured in sexually abusive material. Thorn has created a program called Spotlight. Spotlight marketing collateral, based on what law enforcement needed to know. Kutchers company Thorn developed software to combat this challenge. Used by law enforcement in all 50 states and Canada, Spotlight has assisted in over 25,000 cases in 2019 alone and has helped to identify nearly 5,500 child sex trafficking victims and nearly 6,500 child sex traffickers. There are more than 150,000 escort ads posted every day in this country. endobj Our tools take massive amounts of data and turns it into an asset for law enforcement. We couldnt recommend it more taking time away from what is hard helps us all sustain our efforts to achieve our goals. Spotlight Data How often is the information in Spotlight refreshed? Spotlight takes this massive amount of data and turns it into an asset for law enforcement. 1 0 obj Spotlight can connect contacts in minutes where it would take me weeks, if not months to do the same thing. Due to the sensitivity of the product itself, I will not be using this case study to highlight the product design or development of Spotlight, the tool. It is the greatest tool we have in the fight against human trafficking., Special Agent, Wisconsin Human Trafficking Task Force. $120 $180 $300 Other Other. <>/Metadata 508 0 R/ViewerPreferences 509 0 R>> After the sting operation, we sat down with FVTC and the DOJ to put together the curriculum for Spotlight Lab. Registration is open for Dressember 2018 and fundraising has already started! To help investigators overcome these and other hurdles, Thorn collaborated with AWS and Digital Reasoning, a company specializing in cognitive-computing solutions, to build Spotlight. After the 2015 Atlanta ICAC Conference, we quickly realized that we needed a better on-boarding process that no longer relied solely on Google Sheets to manage requests. Similarly, The Tote Project, sells their bags, which helps them pay expenses. Raise your voice against slavery this December! How can people reading this help Thorn fight against child sex trafficking? Hi-fidelity prototypes of key touch points on the Spotlight website. In addition to a powerful team of experts, we work with the sharpest minds from tech, non-profit, government, and law enforcement to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material, stand up to child traffickers, and uncover new kinds of abuse. Building is a core value that informs every strategy in our organization. Share it with us and well add it to the database! A 2012 Thorn survey of child sex-trafficking survivors found that 75 percent had been sold online, most of them through escort websites. With the approval of the Thorn CEO, I led the design of a Spotlight product website and managed our vendors, Media Cause and Digital Reasoning - who were in charge of graphic design and engineering development. Vietnam. All Rights Reserved, thorn.org, Hear more from investigators using Spotlight on the front lines, surveyed underage sex trafficking victims. stream Throughout this process, I worked collaboratively with Media Cause and Digital Reasoning to set timelines and execute. One way for law enforcement agents to catch traffickers and rescue kids would be to identify and investigate escort ads that seem to feature minors, but there are many obstacles to doing this. So much so that we launched Spotlight nationwide in October 2014. Per Kristin, "The genesis of Spotlight started after we conducted a sex trafficking Survivor Survey in 2012, seeking to learn directly from victims how technology was used throughout their trafficking situation. 3 0 obj Spotlight was designed for law enforcement and prosecutors who investigate human trafficking networks so that victims can be identified and connected to services. Click here to resend it.). 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. Officers, directors, trustees, and key employees. Thank you for supporting the fight to end human trafficking! x nH@ \ Technology can be used to enable slavery but it can also be used to disable slavery, and thats what were doing, Kutcher said to wrap up his comments. COVID-19 Fraud. Spotlights analytics pipeline begins with a third-party solution that ingests more than 100,000 new online escort ads each day, storing text and image data as objects in Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) buckets. With just over 20% of users reporting, we are confident these numbers represent the low end of our impact. Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? <> Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? User research through interviews, personas, and journey mapping of proactive and reactive searches had already been done prior to my start date. 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. Eventually, I reached out to them, and we agreed to partner and co-teach a Spotlight Lab workshop at major conferences across the Nation to drive awareness and adoption. One aspect of law enforcement often discussed during an in-briefing or at a recruiting event is the idea that by joining the organization, you are being accepted into that agency's "family.". Help us get you more of the nonprofit information you need, including: An email has been sent to the address you provided. We work with the sharpest minds from tech, non-profit, government and law enforcement to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material, stand up to child traffickers and uncover new kinds of abuse . ", Spotlight was made to combat a difficult problem, and the data Spotlight handles is unsettling to say the least. Spotlight, which is offered free of charge to law enforcement and allied organizations, uses Amazon Cognito to provide a secure user directory that can scale to millions of users. You can have your biggest impact in the community where you live thats where you know the most about the environment, the opportunities, the dangers. Register now. That's where Thorn comes in. Here are samples of the Spotlight product website: home page, request access page, and request demo page. Sign in. 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. We do all of this so every child can be safe, curious, and happy. Our team built and launched Spotlight in 2014 to improve investigator workflow to find child victims faster. 5 0 obj 2 0 obj But Thorn stays positive in the midst of engaging directly with such data. Initially, they had about 100 users from three U.S. states who were using Spotlight for their human-trafficking investigations. This combination of streamlining workflows and increasing successful victim identification is what has propelled Spotlight to continue to grow its user base. I started by conducting a competitive and stakeholder analysis to help with the overall discovery of where we were with our current process. Before presenting the first award of the night, "The Ranch" star Ashton Kutcher walked the red carpet in Dolce & Gabbana. "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 . 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. Thorn has created a program called Spotlight. Spotlight is used by more than 6,000 law enforcement officers in all 50 This is me at a conference booth, preparing to hold several usability testing sessions with human trafficking investigators. 11 0 obj "Fighting human trafficking starts where you live. %PDF-1.7 I joined a superuser with the Louisiana State Police on a human trafficking sting operation in New Orleans, to observe how they used Spotlight in the field. And its working. He also noted that Spotlight is reducing investigation times by 60 percent. 4 0 obj Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Most locations in the United States are updated every six hours. This website is funded through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The Tennessee Fusion Center may share information contained within THOR with other law . Our tool Spotlight accelerates law enforcements ability to identify victims of child sex trafficking. After the 2015 Atlanta ICAC Conference, we quickly realized that we needed a better on-boarding process that no longer relied solely on Google Sheets to manage requests. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. There are many things you can do right now to get started in your community to support local survivor organizations.". "When I asked if Spotlight was available to law enforcement in other countries, Kelbi said no, not yet, "But were constantly evaluating the landscape to understand where it can have impact internationally as well.". Kutcher elaborate on the software during the hearing, Its a tool that can be used by law enforcement to prioritize their caseload. Use of THOR in a manner outside the scope of these Rules is strictly prohibited. We depend on the anti-trafficking community to keep our resource hub up to date. Finally, we were awarded the 2015 Cloudera Social Impact Award, for the work we did on Spotlight. After I completed this phase of research, I used the information to iterate on the workshop design, and improve the overall usability of Spotlight. Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Don't recognize this agency? 10 0 obj Hear more from investigators using Spotlight on the front lines. Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? endobj endobj Thorn builds technology to defend children from sexual abuse. Expanded partnerships with law enforcement. 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. and who do the programs serve? It went from beta in Summer 2014, to extended beta in Fall 2014, to a national roll-out in Winter 2015. 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. (Don't see an email in your inbox? Additionally, many new supervisors inevitably will speak with and encourage employees to ensure they take care of their . Amazon Rekognition, which uses deep learning to accurately identify objects, people, activities, and events in images and videos stored in Amazon S3, is at the heart of one of Spotlights most crucial capabilities. We believe that every child has the right to be safe, to be curious, to be happy. Facial analysis in Amazon Rekognition helps investigators find photos of the same person that have been edited to defeat less intelligent image-search engines. Email contact available with a Pro subscription. Spotlight is like a investigative partner in human trafficking investigations. To build the world we believe in, we know we must: 1) Accelerate Victim Identification 2) Make Digital Environments Safer and 3) Deter Predatory Behavior. endobj result in increased adoption of Thorns tools, a reduction in time to stop abuse and an increase in risk for perpetrators. Help Spotlight PA hold the powerful to account with a gift today. All Rights Reserved. Copyright IBTimes 2023. There is a small group of people abusing our children, and we are a large community standing in strong opposition. 7 0 obj According to our most recent survey, it is helping find more human trafficking victims, faster. endobj A virtual team based in the U.S., Thorn employs 25 people. Thorn was founded in 2012 to build technology to defend children from sexual abuse. Earlier in her career she worked for Motorolas mobile phone division and helped launch HELIO, a mobile virtual network operator. Use of THOR is periodically audited for compliance with these Rules. Education and engagement with the public change risky and abusive behaviors. Register. An infographic detailing the reach that Spotlight has gained, since its national roll-out in February 2015. 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. BACKGROUND Spotlight is a robust search tool that uses machine learning to help law enforcement identify victims of trafficking online. Thorn is a team of issue experts, business leaders, and engineers who build technology to defend children from sexual abuse. It's a hard question but an important one. On AWS, we can also respond to feature requests from officers in weeks or daysnot a level of responsiveness public-sector agencies are used to seeing. Our tools are currently used by over 8,000 law enforcement officers in 37 countries, resulting in the identification of 10,000+ child sex trafficking victims and 847+ victims of child sexual abuse material. All of our technology partners are making crucial contributions to this fight. With the approval of the Thorn CEO, I led the design of a Spotlight product website and managed our vendors, Media Cause and Digital Reasoning - who were in charge of graphic design and engineering development. GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader She previously served as the VP of Marketing/Communications of (RED), where she helped establish the brand as one of the most successful cause marketing initiatives in history, delivering more than $160 million to fight HIV/AIDS across Africa. I agree to the terms of use, privacy policy and agree to receive promotional emails, reminders and updates from Thorn 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. Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options. Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Thorn is a registered 501(c)(3) organizationEIN: 27-0943677, 2023 Thorn. Our web-based tool is now used by over 5,000 officers in all 50 states and Canada. The internet has made it easier for children to be bought and sold online. <> It went from beta in Summer 2014, to extended beta in Fall 2014, to a national roll-out in Winter 2015. Leadership Spotlight: A System Focus. Numbers are to date since the launch of our tool in 2014. stream According to our most recent user survey, Spotlight is helping find more child victims of human trafficking, faster. Leadership Spotlight: Leading Through Tragedy. He likes Neo-noir films, running and cycling, classic American novels, small venue music shows, and burritos. I get results fast allowing me to to gather important evidence and information in minutes compared to hours., Spotlight is a force multiplier at every stage of the operation. We have resource guides for researchers across the globe on all forms of trafficking for various stakeholders. 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