Harvard to aid DHS Blue Campaign

Harvard University has secured $775,000 in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate S&T funds to aid the agency’s Blue Campaign.

The funds have been earmarked for the university’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health to conduct research and evaluate the impact of the Blue Campaign, which was created to raise awareness about human trafficking, providing resources to educate the public to recognize signs of human trafficking and report suspected instances.

“The Blue Campaign is excited to partner with S&T and Harvard University to continue to hone and evolve our strategies and content in the continued fight to end modern human slavery,” Trent Frazier, executive director of DHS Campaigns and Office of Academic Engagement, said.

The Blue Campaign offers training to law enforcement agencies and others to increase detection and investigation of human trafficking, protect victims and bring suspected traffickers to justice.

The endeavor with Harvard seeks to provide a comprehensive data set of science-based best practices to inform federal, state, and local stakeholders about programs addressing terrorism, targeted violence, and human trafficking.

“Our objective in partnering with Harvard University in this research is to understand the impact of the campaign on public officials and general public’s ability to respond, with an ultimate goal of preventing and stopping human trafficking,” Michael Wilbur, S&T program manager, said.