Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Law Enforcement Perceptions And Responses Regarding Child Sex Trafficking Victims In South Carolina, Alton B. Terry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite the new wave of laws and victim advocate services implemented to treat all children involved in sex trafficking as victims, many law enforcement officers have some difficulty in identifying potential victims of child sex trafficking. The purpose of the study was to understand how law enforcement officers perceive child sex trafficking victims in South Carolina and how law enforcement officers respond to child sex trafficking victims in South Carolina based on those perceptions. The theory that guided the study was Becker’s (1963) labeling theory. This multiple case study investigated how law enforcement officers perceive child sex trafficking victims in …