The organization collaborates with law enforcement agencies, tech companies, and nonprofits. <>/ExtGState<>/XObject<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> Spotlight marketing collateral, based on what law enforcement needed to know. 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. 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. Additionally, through my stakeholder analysis, I focused on Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) - a leading law enforcement education center - and the DOJ (both of whom I know, because I currently consult for them on human trafficking). Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? I was given the goal of on-boarding 250 users in the next six months. There are over 150,000 escort ads posted daily, and Spotlight takes this massive amount of data and turns it into an asset for law enforcement. This combination of streamlining workflows and increasing successful victim identification is what has propelled Spotlight to its large user base. Thorn has created a program called Spotlight. 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.". Editor's Pick Leise Hook / For Spotlight PA The software, called Spotlight, is now used across all 50 states by more than 4,000 law enforcement officers, according to Thorns website. Spotlight evolved from surveys completed by victims of trafficking that showed 63 percent of underage victims were bought or sold online at some point. 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. 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 in P2P onthe dark web from a hidden location. endstream I also conducted guerrilla usability testing to learn about the major pain points of the product itself. Our web-based tool is now used by over 5,000 officers in all 50 states and Canada. Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2020, 2019 and 2018. endobj 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. Learn more about Spotlight. "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.". Washington D.C. tax attorney Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner of Thorn Law Group, explains. Similarly, The Tote Project, sells their bags, which helps them pay expenses. With just over 20% of users reporting, we are confident these numbers represent the low end of our impact. 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. We recently asked human trafficking investigators and prosecutors how Spotlight has impacted their investigations within the last 12 months here are a few highlights: It is the Google Search for combating human sex trafficking. Leadership Spotlight: Leading At-Risk Employees - Law Enforcement and the Addiction Crisis. Half of our 26 person staff are engineers and product managers focused on technology innovation and deployment. Moreover, users wanted to learn from a law enforcement investigator currently using our tool - so we made sure to co-teach with a superuser. endobj Rather, I will be detailing the UX/UI and program management that went behind the design of the on-boarding process, which I led during my time at Thorn. Hear more from investigators using Spotlight on the front lines. Nokia's New G22 Phone Allows You To Repair Broken Parts Yourself; A Knack For Storytelling: Should AI Take Over What Makes Us Human? On Wednesday, Kutcher testified before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee along with the CEO and President of the organization Human Rights First, Elisa Massimino, to ask the United States Government for help fighting trafficking and sexual exploitation. Spotlight Data How often is the information in Spotlight refreshed? stream Officers, directors, trustees, and key employees. I gathered additional information through phone call interviews with customers who were familiar with Spotlight and the other two products to get a sense of what features and design they liked. We depend on the anti-trafficking community to keep our resource hub up to date. Registration is open for Dressember 2018 and fundraising has already started! All Rights Reserved. The rise of the internet has done for child sexual abusers the exact same thing it has done for everyone else - made it easier to share images, and build a community. So much so that we launched Spotlight nationwide in October 2014. Spotlight's machine-learning models analyze new escort ads in real time and use intelligent image analysis and natural-language processing (NLP) to flag those that match risk profiles developed in cooperation with law enforcement agencies. endobj 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. AWS Lambda functions orchestrate Amazon Simple Queueing Service (Amazon SQS) to queue new ads for processing by the app's analytics engine, Digital Reasoning Synthesys. Expanded partnerships with law enforcement. From there, I created an information architecture for the content on the website, put together a website design inspiration board, sketched wireframes by hand and through an online tool - and then wrote the content itself. Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? I started by conducting a competitive and stakeholder analysis to help with the overall discovery of where we were with our current process. COVID-19 Fraud. Officers can set customized alerts and search Spotlights constantly growing database of ads to aid in their investigations. "With the flexibility and easy integration of AWS, we can experiment and prototype new products like Spotlight that would otherwise be cost-prohibitive to develop. All rights reserved. Password. Problems of scale like this cry out for automated processes, but another big obstacle is the fact that escort ad data is anything but consistent: traffickers use code words, slang, and reused content to complicate detection by machines. Additionally, many new supervisors inevitably will speak with and encourage employees to ensure they take care of their . 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. Help Spotlight PA hold the powerful to account with a gift today. We are dedicated to ending child sex trafficking and eliminating child sexual abuse from the internet, and we wont stop until every child can simply be a kid. Register. The Law Enforcement Family. Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? ", Combating online child sex trafficking is a team effort, according to Istook. " 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. The app does this on a serverless Amazon Web Services (AWS) architecture that includes Amazon Rekognition, a deep learningbased image and video analysis service, and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) C5 instances. %PDF-1.7 This combination of streamlining workflows and increasing successful victim identification is what has propelled Spotlight to continue to grow its user base. 7 0 obj Spotlight, on the other hand, is a complex piece of software that doesn't have any sales to help fund its production. Thorn has created a program called Spotlight. Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Thorn Helps Law Enforcement Identify Child Sex-Trafficking Victims Faster on AWS Answering the Challenge Using AWS 2016-MU-BX-K005 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. We have resource guides for researchers across the globe on all forms of trafficking for various stakeholders. To request technical assistance, training, or other resources through this initiative, agency POCs shouldemail usor call 202-833-1460. Initially, they had about 100 users from three U.S. states who were using Spotlight for their human-trafficking investigations. is the CEO of Thorn and has helped grow the organization from inception in 2012. Our work has three pillars and one guiding vision. Education and engagement with the public change risky and abusive behaviors. Technology is a powerful tool. Copyright Human Trafficking Search 2023. Other Amount: Donate now Yes, accountability matters. Copyright IBTimes 2023. Our tools take massive amounts of data and turns it into an asset for law enforcement. in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section. 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. Spotlight helps officers identify child sex-trafficking ads much faster than the old paper-and-pencil methods., Brooke Istook, Director of Strategy and Operations, Thorn. Kelbi Ervin, Development Associate at Thorn, works with a team to develop partnerships and identify funding opportunities to sustain Thorn's work. 2 0 obj Dont see a resource that you know exists? The bad news is that law enforcement just doesnt have the time, energy, or manpower to efficiently pursue the information available online. At Dressember, we release a line of dresses each year, but those products are sold. 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. Spotlight takes this massive amount of data and turns it into an asset for law enforcement. Just within the last 12 months investigators reported: Officers who login weekly report a time savings of 60% in their human trafficking investigations. FOLLOW MORE IBT NEWS ON THE BELOW CHANNELS, IBT Fast Start - Let the best of International News come to you. The insights we gained - was not only beneficial for the overall product development - but for the workshop design itself (I would continue to observe Spotlight usage at future sting operations, including Operation Cross Country, in which hundreds of juveniles were identified and pimps were arrested). Output - describing our activities and reach. For more information about the impact of Spotlight, check out the infographic below. Research programs to better understand the role of technology in child sex trafficking. Get free shipping on all Thorne products, connect with health professionals and clients, and read Take 5 Daily to get the latest news in the health and technology industry. 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. <> Most Popular Stories. Finally, we designed marketing collateral to drive further customer acquisition. Supported browsers are Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari. Our products would not be successful without the partnership we receive from the law enforcement users in every state, at every level of government, and in 37 other countries who use our products, give us feedback, and work tirelessly to identify children. Nothing makes my job more rewarding when a victim says "thank you" and tells me about her rebuilt life. "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. 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