A Montana-based nonprofit is expanding partnerships with data and investigative-technology companies in an effort to make human trafficking intelligence more accessible to law enforcement agencies across the country.
DeliverFund said it is working with technology partners to integrate its trafficking intelligence into investigative platforms already used by police and other agencies. The goal is to help investigators identify trafficking indicators, connect related criminal activity and develop leads that might not be apparent from a single source of information.
One of those partnerships is with Whooster, an investigative-data company. Through the arrangement, law enforcement agencies can access DeliverFund intelligence through Whooster NightWatch at no cost.
The integration combines DeliverFund’s specialized trafficking intelligence with Whooster’s broader investigative-data capabilities.
DeliverFund said trafficking cases are often connected to other criminal activity and may first surface during investigations involving drugs, domestic violence, assault, gangs, child exploitation, weapons offenses, fraud, homicide or theft.
That overlap can make trafficking difficult to identify at the outset of an investigation, particularly when victims, offenders, financial activity or broader criminal networks are hidden within cases that initially appear unrelated.
“Human trafficking is frequently intertwined with other criminal activity, but the trafficking component is not always apparent at the outset of an investigation,” DeliverFund Chief Executive Nic McKinley said.
McKinley said integrating trafficking intelligence into tools investigators already use can help agencies recognize connections, identify victims and offenders and pursue a broader picture of criminal activity.
Whooster Chief Executive Richard Spradley said the partnership is intended to give law enforcement another resource for identifying links and developing leads in trafficking investigations.
“By combining DeliverFund’s expertise with Whooster technology, we help provide law enforcement with another resource to identify connections, develop leads, and investigate trafficking activity that may otherwise remain hidden within other cases,” Spradley said.
DeliverFund describes itself as a nonprofit intelligence organization that develops technology and intelligence products designed to help law enforcement and the public detect and combat human trafficking.
The organization said its broader strategy is to place specialized trafficking intelligence inside established investigative systems, allowing agencies to use that information without adopting an entirely separate platform.