AG: Charleston County remains in top 5 counties for human trafficking in South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) – Charleston County remains in the state’s top five counties for reported human trafficking, according to a report from the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force.

The 2020 report, which was released on Monday, also revealed that Dorchester County had dropped out of this year’s top five.

South Carolina Attorney General says being in the top five does not necessarily mean those counties have the most human trafficking.  He said counties with active regional human trafficking task forces have raised awareness about the crime and how to report it, so being one of the top counties could be because it’s reported more, not because it’s happening there more.

Number one for human trafficking reports in South Carolina is Horry County for the second year. The remaining counties, in order, included Charleston, Greenville, Richland, and Anderson County.

There were 139 cases of human trafficking reported in this year’s annual report and 179 victim cases were reported through the hotline alone.

“The State Task Force continues its efforts, in collaboration with regional task forces across the state, to raise awareness of the National Human Trafficking Hotline number so victims can reach out for help and community members can report suspected incidents,” said Attorney General Wilson. “We thank members across the state for their determination and hard work in combatting this heinous crime.”

Attorney General Wilson also announced new partnerships with the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services which will be represented on a new State Task Force Advisory Council that was launched in 2020.

For more information on the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force and to read the 2020 Annual Report, please visit humantrafficking.scag.gov or www.scag.gov.