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Video Transcript

Grant
Operation Cross Country is a national initiative that the FBI has led over the last 13 years. That high the primary focus for it is to be able to recover minor children that have been human been trafficked, as well as to focus on not only minors, but also adults that have been put into trafficking situations using either force, fraud or coercion.

Cherese
I think a lot of times people view the FBI as just law enforcement agents and all we care about the investigation. But actually what's more important than the investigation are the people that have been victimized in that investigation. When I first meet a victim, I make a needs assessment. So when I encounter a victim, I listen to them, I talk to them, I build a rapport with them and then find out what it is their needs are.

Grant
When we focus on Operation Cross Country, it's extremely important because of the fact that we have new and emerging businesses. We have new and emerging tourism type type situation. So it's it allows for us to understand kind of how people how human trafficking is evolving. And it allows for us to also to rescue victims that there that this is happening to.

Cherese
The partnerships that I develop and continue to develop with the community, non-government communities, other multidisciplinary teams out there. It's important for me because it helps me do my job. Not only does it help me do my job, but it helps that victim.

Grant
One of the big issues that we have in human trafficking is that oftentimes those individuals who are trafficked as minors and then it becomes a lifestyle for them. And so sometimes they can be recovered four or five, six different times. And to have these advocacy groups with us, to be able to manage these individuals after they've been recovered really does increase the ability for us to take them out of that situation.

Cherese
To me, when I see Operation Cross Country is that I'm going out there and I'm being a part of a team. It's not just me. I'm part of a team and a part of the community team that's going to go out there and save a person that's lost or say someone that doesn't even know that they are lost or know that they need help.

Grant
The importance of Cross Country is is primarily because our our largest asset is our children. And we should always be focusing on that