(NASHVILLE) — State Representative Jim Coley (R-Bartlett) today applauded a new report released by Shared Hope International in which the State of Tennessee received the highest score in the country on its 2017 Protected Innocence Challenge report card for strengthening child trafficking laws.
The report card is the only extensive study in the country conducted on existing state laws related to child trafficking. Through the Protected Innocence Challenge, each state receives a grade and analysis that covers 41 legislative components that address a state’s laws and its response to child trafficking. States are encouraged to implement recommendations made by Shared Hope International based on analysis in order to better address and prevent this type of crime.
According to the anti-human trafficking organization, the state has demonstrated its commitment to strengthening penalties against offenders over the previous seven-year period. In fact, much of the recent successful outcomes achieved by local and state law enforcement related to the crime can be traced to the partnership between these agencies and Tennessee General Assembly members including Representative Coley, who has been a fierce advocate for human trafficking victims on Capitol Hill during his time serving in the House chamber.
“To witness the successful outcomes that we have recently experienced and to see the frequency and instances of human trafficking crimes in communities throughout our state on a downward trend is very exciting,” said Representative Coley. “My colleagues in the General Assembly — including State Representative Debra Moody, State Representative Mary Littleton, and State Senator Bill Ketron — deserve considerable recognition for what we have been able to accomplish over the past several years. Together, I know we will continue to find new ways to address this type of crime in 2018, and I know we can end human trafficking in Tennessee once and for all.”
To view Tennessee’s 2017 Protected Innocence Challenge report card, please visit: https://sharedhope.org/PICframe7/reportcards/PIC_RC_2017_TN.pdf
Jim Coley serves as a member of the House Finance Ways & Means Committee and Subcommittee. He is also a member of the House Criminal Justice Committee. Coley lives in Bartlett and represents House District 97, which includes part of Shelby County. He can be reached by email at: Rep.Jim.Coley@capitol.tn.gov or by calling (615) 741-8201.