Attitudes Regarding Criminal Justice Responses to Sex Trafficking among Law Enforcement Officers in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Lisa R. Muftic
VARSTVOSLOVJE, Journal of Criminal Justice and Security year 15 no. 2 pp. 177-189
Purpose:
The purpose of this research study is to examine law enforcement officers' attitudes pertaining to the sanctioning of individuals involved in the sex trade, with a particular focus on sex trafficking victims, sex traffickers, and men who purchase sex (herein referred to as customers). Design/Methods/Approach:
The current study relies on self-reported survey data from the Bosnian Border Police (BP) officers (n = 363) collected in the summer of 2011 to assess officers' attitudes regarding the sex trade. Participants were asked to respond to a variety of statements reflecting attitudinal factors related to prostitution myths and criminal justice responses to sex trafficking victims, sex traffickers, and customers. Findings:
Results from a series of multivariate statistical analyses indicate several factors to be associated with an officer's support for the arrest, incarceration, and deportation of trafficking victims, traffickers, and customers. These include adherence to prostitution myths, whether or not the officer had received training pertaining to human trafficking, and the officer's sex. Research Limitations/Implications:
Avenues for future research include an examination of the impact attitudes have on police behavior, an analysis of the content, duration and frequency of training programs offered to law enforcement, and consideration of the impact personal experiences with the sex trade have on attitude formation among the police.
Practical Implications:
Findings presented have important implications for anti-trafficking programs, in particular those designed to educate and train criminal justice officials. Training programs need to include the provision of factual information regarding prostitution and sex trafficking.
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Keywords: police, prostitution, victims of trafficking, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Stališča policistov v Bosni in Hercegovini do kazenskega pravosodja v zvezi s trgovino z ljudmi z namenom spolnega izkoriščanja
Namen prispevka:
Namen raziskave je preučiti stališča policistov do kaznovanja posameznikov, vključenih v trgovino z ljudmi z namenom spolnega izkoriščanja, s posebnim poudarkom na žrtvah trgovanja, trgovcih in moških, ki plačujejo za spolne usluge (v nadaljevanju kupci). Metode:
V raziskavi so poleti 2011 sodelovali policisti bosanske obmejne policije (n = 363) z namenom oceniti odnose policistov do trgovine z ljudmi z namenom spolnega izkoriščanja. Sodelujoči so odgovarjali na različna vprašanja, ki so se nanašala na mite o prostituciji in na stališča kazenskega pravosodja do žrtev trgovine z ljudmi z namenom spolnega izkoriščanja, trgovcev ter kupcev. Ugotovitve:
Rezultati multivariatnih statističnih analiz nakazujejo na mnoge faktorje, povezane s podporo policistov za aretacijo, zapor in deportacijo žrtev, trgovcev in kupcev. To vključuje upoštevanje mitov o prostituciji ne glede na to, ali so se policisti usposabljali s področja trgovine z ljudmi ali ne in ne glede na spol policistov. Omejitve/uporabnost raziskave:
Prihodnje raziskave bodo vključevale preučitev vpliva, ki ga imajo odnosi na vedenje policistov; analize vsebine, trajanja in pogostosti programov usposabljanj, ki so na voljo policistom; in vpliv, ki ga imajo osebne izkušnje s trgovino z ljudmi z namenom spolnega izkoriščanja na oblikovanje odnosov znotraj policije. Praktična uporabnost:
Predstavljene ugotovitve imajo pomembne posledice za programe proti trgovanju, še posebej tiste, ki so namenjeni izobraževanju in usposabljanju uradnikov kazenskega pravosodja. Izobraževalni programi morajo vsebovati določbe o dejanskih informacijah, ki se nanašajo na prostitucijo in trgovino z ljudmi z namenom spolnega izkoriščanja.
UDK: 351.74/.76:343.43
Ključne besede: policija, prostitucija, žrtve trgovanja, Bosna in Hercegovina
1 INTRODUCTION
As a consequence of war, Bosnia and Herzegovina has undergone innumerable economic, political, legislative, social, and cultural changes. One such change has been the growing sex trade in the region (Adžajlic-Dedovic, 2003). In the last decade and a half, Bosnia and Herzegovina has become a country of origin, transit, and destination for human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation (herein sex trafficking; Department of State, 2012). As a result, attention has been directed at
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how the state responds to sex trafficking, with a particular focus on law enforcement responses. Missing from this is an examination of officers' opinions, not only about the sex trade in general, but also policies intended to curtail trafficking and prostitution in the region. This is unfortunate because research indicates that police officers' attitudes can impact their professional behavior (Frank & Brandl, 1991; Riksheim & Chermak, 1993). Consequently, what officers think about the sex trade, how they view individuals involved (i.e., victims, traffickers, and customers), and their support of sex trafficking policies may influence the manner in which they police the sex trade. Thus, it is plausible that officers who view victims in a negative light may be more likely to arrest rather than rescue victims of trafficking, despite departmental policy that advocates the latter.
This study provides what is believed to be one of the first empirical analyses of Bosnian police officers' attitudes about the sex trade, including an exploration of what impact, if any, various factors (e.g., demographics, training/education, work experience, and adherence to prostitution myths) have on officers' support for punitive sanctions (i.e., arrest, incarceration, deportation) for actors involved in the sex trade. This is an important contribution to the literature, not only because it is one of the first studies of its kind, but since research pertaining to the police in Bosnia and Herzegovina has largely centered on studying the process of reformation in the immediate post-conflict years with little attention directed at officers as a unit of study (for exceptions see Deljkic & Lucic-Catic, 2011; Ivkovic & Shelley, 2005, 2008; Muftic & Cruze, in press). As stewards of the law, it is imperative that we understand officers' opinions about the laws they are entrusted to enforce, as well as the factors that influence such opinions. Doing so will allow for a better understanding of police behavior, as well as identify avenues for education and training initiatives.
2 THE SEX TRADE IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
The selling of sex is illegal in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sanctions for prostitution range from monetary fines for pandering (a misdemeanor at the local level) to a maximum of 5 years imprisonment (a criminal offense at the state level). Additionally, international procuring in prostitution, which is a criminal felony at the state level, carries with it a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment. Estimating the incidence of the sex trade in Bosnia and Herzegovina is difficult if not impossible for several reasons. First, official data on the number of individuals charged and prosecuted for prostitution or trafficking in persons is not systematically collected at either the state or local level. Second, the formal data that does exist suggests that the sex industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina may be on the decline as there has been a decrease in formal responses to trafficking (i.e., police investigations and prosecutions) as well as fewer victims being referred for assistance (Department of State, 2012). While it is possible that a drop in the number of trafficking cases prosecuted and the number of trafficking victims assisted may indicate a sex industry that is diminishing, experts in the field contend
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that this is not the case (A. Pehlic, personal communication, September 4, 2012)1. Rather, the sex trade, which continues to be a very lucrative source of revenue for organized criminal networks in the country, has evolved2 and been pushed further underground, making its detection all that more difficult (Longino, 2008). Third, prostitution and sex trafficking are often conflated by criminal justice and governmental officials. Prostitution, broadly involves individuals who are most often women willingly3 providing a sexual act in exchange for money or some other commodity. Sex trafficking, on the other hand, most often involves women who are coerced (e.g., via deception, force, and/or violence) into providing a sexual act in exchange for some type of payment. Understanding the nuances between the two can be difficult, especially when criminal justice officials are not properly trained to recognize the indicators of trafficking (Copic & Simeunovic-Patic, 2012; Farrell, 2012). The end result is that some individuals find themselves charged, prosecuted, and fined for engaging in prostitution, when in fact they are victims of trafficking (Limanowska & Rosga, 2004).
2.1 Attitudes about Prostitution and Sex Trafficking
Sawyer and Mete (2009: 336) claim that "some men have distorted notions about sex workers and their work." They refer to these distortions as prostitution myths. Prostitution myths "are those which justify the existence of prostitution and prostituted women and contribute to a social climate that exploits and harms not only prostituted women but all women" (Cotton, Farley, & Baron, 2002: 1790). Research indicates that men who adhere to prostitution myths are more likely to support other mythical beliefs, such as rape myths (Cotton et al., 2002). Thus, it is also plausible that men who adhere to prostitution myths may be more likely to adhere to myths about sex trafficking victims4.
While there is an abundance of research examining attitudes towards sex work in the United States and other Western countries (see Farley & Kelly, 2000 for a review of this literature), this is an area of scholarship that remains largely unexplored in southeastern Europe. This is unfortunate on many levels. As a region that has experienced a growing sex trade since the collapse of communism and the
1	Abida Pehlic, President of the Association "Novi Put". Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
2	For instance, reports indicate that while in the immediate post-conflict years international men comprised upwards to one-third of clientele and almost all sex workers were foreign born, individuals involved in the sex trade (clients and workers) today are now predominately locals from within Bosnia and Herzegovina.
3	It is important to recognize that "the degree to which prostitutes "willingly" engage in prostitution has been questioned by feminists and survivor advocates particularly considering that for many prostitutes, their "consent" may be mediated by dire economic circumstance, drug addiction, and fear of violence from a partner or pimp" (Monto, 2004: 162).
4	The media is ripe with mythical depictions of the quintessential trafficking victim; the "young and
naïve innocent lured or deceived by evil traffickers into a life of sordid horror from which escape is nearly impossible" (Doezema, 2000:24). In reality, only a minority of victims fit this profile (Copié
& Simeunovié-Patié, 2012). Victims of trafficking, more often than not, voluntarily migrated for sex work only to find themselves in a situation they had not anticipated which often involves deplorable working conditions, debt bondage, and psychological, physical, and sex violence (Weifeer, 2007).
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subsequent Yugoslav wars in the 1990s, a great deal of international attention and effort has been directed at responding to and reducing the sex trade. Of particular interest has been formal (i.e., state) responses to sex trafficking. This has included providing training to some criminal justice officials, including law enforcement officers, about sex trafficking in general as well as techniques to facilitate the proper identification and investigation of trafficking cases. Despite all of this, little to no attention has been directed at examining and/or influencing officers' attitudes about the sex trade.
This oversight could be tragic as research suggests that "attitudes, as evaluative internal states, pre-dispose individuals to act in a certain manner" (Frank & Brandl, 1991: 83). As previously stated, what officers think about the sex trade and how they view individuals involved (i.e., victims, traffickers, and customers) may influence the manner in which they police the sex trade. In other words, officers who are unsympathetic toward victims of trafficking or unaware or unsure of the differences between prostitution and sex trafficking may be more likely to arrest rather than rescue victims of trafficking, despite departmental policy advocating the latter.
3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The purpose of this research is to examine law enforcement officers' attitudes pertaining to the sanctioning of individuals involved in the sex trade, with a particular focus on victims, traffickers, and customers. While there is a small body of research literature that has explored police officers' attitudes about prostitution, to the author's knowledge, this is the first study to examine officers' punitive attitudes regarding sex trafficking. As such, several research questions are presented below.
Research Question One: Do officers support punitive sanctions for actors involved in the sex trade?
Little is empirically known about police officers' attitudes regarding criminal justice sanctions for individuals involved in the sex trade. The first research question is thus designed to provide a baseline understanding of which sanctions officers support when it comes to various individuals involved in the sex trade. Specifically, this question asks whether officers support punitive sanctions (i.e., arrest, incarceration, and/or deportation) for sex trafficking victims, traffickers, and customers?
Research Question Two: What impact do attitudes toward prostitution have on officers' support of punitive sanctions for individuals in the sex trade?
The second research question presented is designed to explore what impact personally held beliefs about prostitution have on officers' sex trafficking attitudes. Since previous research suggests that men who hold mythic ideas regarding prostitution also hold mythic ideas about other types of sexual violence (Cotton et al., 2002), it is hypothesized that officers who adhere to prostitution myths will be more likely to advocate for punitive type of criminal justice responses to victims,
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and support more lenient criminal justice sanctions for traffickers and customers than officers who do not adhere to prostitution myths.
Research Question Three: What impact does training have on officers' support of punitive sanctions for individuals involved in the sex trade?
American based research that has examined law enforcement responses to human trafficking finds that police officers who have received training pertaining to human trafficking are more knowledgeable and better equipped to identify and investigate trafficking cases (Farrell, McDevitt, & Fahy, 2008). Therefore, it is proposed that officers who have received training specific to sex trafficking will not support punitive sanctions for trafficking victims but will support the arrest and incarceration of traffickers and trafficking customers.
Research Question Four: Are there certain characteristics that are related to punitiveness among law enforcement officials?
Existing research indicates that certain characteristics, particularly sex and age, are related to individuals holding more conservative and punitive attitudes about prostitution (Cotton et al., 2002; Wilson, Cullen, Latessa, & Wills, 1985). For instance, general population surveys find that younger respondents are less supportive of prostitution and resultantly, more supportive of criminal justice approaches that punish prostitutes (e.g., arrest and imprisonment; Jakobsson & Kotsadam, 2009; May, 1999; Sawyer, Mete, Hinds, & Brucker, 2001; Wilson & Chappell, 1968). In contrast, Wilson et al. (1985) found that among the police, younger officers were more supportive of prostitution than older officers. It is not known what influence age, or other individual characteristics like sex and education, have on officers' attitudes about sex trafficking. Consequently, the third research question is non-directional and simply explores the impact sex, age, and education have on officers' attitudes regarding sex trafficking.
4 METHODS
The current study relies on self-reported survey data from Bosnian Border Police (BP) officers (n = 363) collected as part of a larger study to assess officers' attitudes about, knowledge of, and experience with the sex trade in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Pencil and paper surveys, which were translated from English into Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, were distributed by border police administrators to all officers working over the course of seven days in the summer of 2011. A total of 400 surveys were distributed of which 363 surveys were returned (90.8% response rate). Data entry and analysis were conducted in the United States.
4.1 Dependent Variables
Participants were asked to respond to a variety of statements reflecting attitudinal factors related to law enforcement responses to trafficking victims, traffickers, and _customers. Participants indicated their level of agreement or disagreement with
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each statement on a four-point scale with higher values signifying greater levels of agreement with each individual item.
Punitive Attitudes Towards Trafficking Victims Scale. Officers' views pertaining to how they feel trafficking victims should be treated by the criminal justice system were assessed by asking three questions pertaining to arrest, incarceration, and deportation (see Table 1). These three items were factor analyzed and none of the items had a loading of less than 0.3. As such, all three items were used in the creation of the Punitive Attitudes Toward
Trafficking Victims Scale. The mean of these combined items was calculated to create the scale (M = 2.07, SD = 0.70), with higher values reflecting support of more punitive criminal justice responses to trafficking victims. The scale had acceptable internal consistency with a reported Cronbach alpha of 0.609.
Punitive Attitudes Toward Traffickers and Customers Scale. Officers' views pertaining to how they feel traffickers and customers should be treated by the criminal justice system were determined by asking four questions relating to arrest and incarceration (see Table 1). Higher values represent a belief that traditional criminal justice responses (i.e., arrest and incarceration) to traffickers and customers are acceptable. These four items were factor analyzed and none of the items had a loading of less than 0.3. As a result, all four items were included in the generation of the Punitive Attitudes Toward Traffickers and Customers scale. The mean of these combined items was calculated to create the scale (M = 3.55, SD = 0.57), with higher values reflecting a belief in more traditional criminal justice responses for traffickers and customers. The Cronbach alpha was 0.725 indicating that the scale had acceptable internal consistency.
Variable	a	M	SD
Attitudes Toward Prostitution	0.702	1.74	0.64
Once women get out of the sex industry they are safe.		1.64	0.84
Most women working in the sex industry make a lot of money.		1.99	0.95
Women working in the sex industry enjoy their work.		1.73	0.87
The reason women work in the sex industry is because they like sex.		1.67	0.86
Attitudes Toward Victims	0.609	2.07	0.70
All women working in the sex industry should be arrested.		1.89	1.03
Women who are trafficked into BiH should be deported.		2.30	1.16
Women working in the sex industry should be imprisoned.		2.07	1.00
Women work in the sex industry because they want to; it's their choice.		2.01	0.92
Attitudes Toward Traffickers/Customers	0.725	3.55	0.57
Traffickers should be arrested.		3.87	0.56
Buyers/ customers should be arrested.		3.30	0.90
Traffickers should be imprisoned.		3.87	0.55
Buyers/customers should be imprisoned.		3.08	1.00
Table 1: Attitudinal scales and statistics
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Attitudes Toward Prostitution Scale. Officers were asked about their attitudes about sex work. Attitudes were assessed through a series of questions taken from the Attitudes Toward Prostitution scale developed by Sawyer and Mete (2009). Participants indicated their level of agreement or disagreement with each statement on a four-point scale with higher values signifying greater levels of agreement with each individual item. The 10 questions comprising the Attitudes Toward Prostitution scale were factor analyzed, and items with loadings less than 0.3 were excluded. This resulted in a scale of four items reflecting an individual's views towards prostitution (see Table 1). The mean of these combined items was calculated to create the Attitudes Toward Prostitution scale (M = 1.74, SD = 0.64), with higher values representing more "distorted, unrealistic beliefs about sex work" (Sawyer & Mete, 2009: 337). The Cronbach alpha was 0.702 indicating that the scale had acceptable internal consistency.
Sex Trafficking Training. A dichotomous measure of training receipt was utilized for this study. Officers self-reported (yes/no) if they had ever received training pertaining to sex trafficking. One-Half of the officers (51.8%; n = 188) indicated they had received some type of sex trafficking training.
Demographics. Officer demographic information (i.e., sex, age and education) was also collected. Overall, the officers surveyed were primarily male (88.7%) and ranged in age from 21 to 58 years (M = 37.7; SD = 6.51). Respondents self-reported the number of years of education they had completed. The mean number of years of education completed was 13.4 years (SD = 1.86; range 8-18 years).
Table 2: Border Police Sample Descriptives (n = 363)
5 FINDINGS
The current study was designed to explore law enforcement officers' support for punitive sanctions for actors caught up in the sex trade. In addition to measuring officers' perceptions of punitiveness, an examination of what factors may be related to such attitudes was also undertaken. This was accomplished through the generation of multivariate (OLS regression) models. Because of the likelihood that various factors influence attitudes, multivariate models were utilized in order to control for competing explanations. It was hypothesized that personally held attitudes about prostitution, training received, and individual characteristics (i.e., sex, age and education) would influence an officer's support of specific types of criminal justice sanctions for individuals in the sex trade.
Male	92.8%
Age (years)	37.7 (6.5)
Highest Grade Completed (years)	13.4 (1.9)
Length of Time on Force (years)	14.1 (6.1)
Received Training	51.8%
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5.1	Punitive Attitudes toward Trafficking Victims
The first research question examined to what extent officers hold punitive attitudes toward sex trafficking victims. Officers indicated their support for arresting, imprisoning and deporting trafficking victims on a scale of one to four, with higher values representing more support for these types of sanctions. Overall, officers did not appear to support punitive sanctions for victims of sex trafficking (M = 2.07, SD = 0.70). When individual scale items were examined, the least amount of support was found for arrest (M = 1.89, SD = 1.03) while the greatest support was found for deportation (M = 2.30, SD = 1.16). It should be noted, however, that officers' responses varied widely with at least one-quarter of officers supporting sanctions involving arrest (26.4% of officers), imprisonment (33.5% of officers surveyed), and deportation (41.9% of officers surveyed) for sex trafficking victims.
The next set of research questions that were examined involved an analysis of factors related to punitive attitudes among officers. Results indicated that several factors appear to influence officers' support for punitive sanctions. Controlling for important demographic factors (i.e., sex, age and education), two variables were found to be significantly related to officers' attitudes supporting punitive sanctions for trafficking victims. As expected, officers who indicated adherence to prostitution myths were more likely to advocate for punitive responses to trafficking victims than officers who indicated less adherence to prostitution myths (|3 = 0.541, p < .001). Officers who have participated in training related to sex trafficking, on the other hand, were less likely to be supportive of punitive responses for trafficking victims than untrained officers (|3 = -0.096, p < .05). Educational level, number of years on the police force, sex, and age were not found to be statistically related to officers' punitiveness.
5.2	Punitive Attitudes toward Traffickers and Sex Trafficking Customers
In addition to examining officers' support for punitive sanctions for trafficking victims, this study set out to explore whether officers support punitive measures for traffickers and sex trafficking customers. Overall, officers hold rather punitive attitudes towards traffickers and sex trafficking customers (M = 3.55, SD = 0.57). The strongest support was found for arresting (M = 3.87, SD = 0.56) and imprisoning (M = 3.87, SD = 0.55) traffickers. It should be noted, however, that there was little variation found within the dependent variable with most officers supporting punitive sanctions for both traffickers and sex trafficking customers.
That being said, support for sanctions varied and dependent upon several factors that were examined in the multivariate statistical model generated. As predicted, officers that indulge in prostitution myths were less likely to advocate for punitive responses to traffickers and customers than officers who do not support prostitution myths (|3 = -0.104, p < .05). Sex was also found to be an important determinant of punitiveness. Specifically, male officers appear to be less supportive of punitive criminal justice responses for traffickers and customers than female
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officers (|3 = -0.148, p < .01). Educational level, number of years on the police force, training, and age were not found to be statistically related to punitiveness.
Table 3: Ordinary least squares regression analyses of sex trafficking attitudes
*** p < .001, ** p < .01, * p < .05, one-sided
6 DISCUSSION
As a whole, officers were not supportive of punitive criminal justice sanctions for trafficking victims. Greater and more consistent support was found for punitive responses to traffickers and customers. Results from a series of multivariate statistical analyses indicate several factors to be associated with law enforcement officers' adherence to prostitution myths and support for punitive responses to individuals involved in the sex trade. These include adherence to prostitution myths, training received, and sex of the officer. Specifically, this study finds officers who adhere to prostitution myths are more likely to be supportive of punitive sanctions for trafficking victims, but unlikely to be supportive of such sanctions for traffickers or customers compared to officers who do not hold mythical beliefs about prostitution. Punitive attitudes were less likely among officers who had received some form of training compared to officers who had not participated in such training. Finally, male officers were less likely to support sanctions involving arrest and incarceration for traffickers and sex trafficking customers than were female officers.
These findings have important implications for anti-trafficking programs. Considering that reports from local NGOs in Bosnia indicate that police officers continue to punish trafficking victims by arresting them for prostitution, possession of forged documents, illegal entry into the country, and/or working without proper authorization despite policies that discourage such practice, the attitudes of officers must be considered (Human Rights Watch, 2009; Longino, 2008). Thus, the focus of training programs needs to be not only on indicators of trafficking
_and investigation techniques, but also on dispelling the myths of prostitution and
	Attitudes Towards Trafficking Victims			Attitudes Towards Traffickers & Customers		
	B	SE	P	B	SE	P
Attitudes Toward Prostitution	0.612***	0.062	0.541	-0.091*	0.055	-0.104
Sex	-0.015	0.140	-0.006	-0.322**	0.138	-0.148
Age (years)	-0.003	0.009	-0.030	0.012	0.008	0.141
Education (years)	-0.014	0.021	-0.036	-0.016	0.019	-0.055
Experience (years)	0.008	0.010	0.070	-0.008	0.009	-0.086
Received Training	-0.135*	0.078	-0.096	-0.037	0.072	-0.034
	n = 254 R2 = .298 F(6, 248) = 17.508, p < .001			n = 260 R2 = .043 F(6, 254) = 1.911, p < .10		
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trafficking through the provision of factual information on prostitutes, prostitution, and sex trafficking.
6.1 Limitations and Future Studies
This study provided one of the first known explorations into whether or not officers support punitive measures for individuals involved in the sex trade in Bosnia and Herzegovina. While an important venue for research, this study is not without limitations. For instance, the measured attitudes employed in this study were not used to predict behavior. If behavioral measures (e.g., arrest decisions) had been used, it would be hypothesized that attitudes in favor of punitive sanctions would be predictive of arresting sex workers, regardless of whether or not the individual has been trafficked. Future studies need to incorporate behavioral measures.
Future research needs to go beyond a dichotomous measure of training (trained/not trained) and examine the type of training programs officers are exposed to. In addition to curriculum, training duration, as well as frequency, should also be evaluated. Finally, faulty messages related to prostitution and sex trafficking, as well as the use of sexist language must also be assessed.
Considering the number of claims levied against the law enforcement community for their involvement in the sex trade (Department of State, 2012; Human Rights Watch, 2009), future studies need to consider officers' personal experiences with prostitution and the sex trade. For instance, are the attitudes of officers who have had sex with a prostitute different from the attitudes of officers who have not?
Finally, considering how the market for sex has changed in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the past decade, it would be pertinent to concentrate on local law enforcement (in addition to the border patrol) to examine police officers' experiences, as well as training needs. This is particularly important because the results from this study, which focused exclusively on officers within the border patrol, may not be generalizable to the law enforcement community at large in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In conclusion, by understanding officers' attitudes about sex trafficking, we have a better sense of police officers' willingness (or reluctance) to find, investigate and prosecute sex trafficking cases. We are thus in a "better position to identify and overcome barriers to police responses to trafficking" as well as identify areas for training and education (Farrell, 2009). The good news is that attitudes can change. They are not static. Training and education programs can target such areas in order to dispel myths which may impact behavior.
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About the Author:
Lisa R. Muftic, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia. She has been appointed as the 2012-2013 United States J. William Fulbright Scholar to Bosnia and Herzegovina where she is a visiting faculty member within the Faculty of Criminology, Criminalistics, and Security Studies at the University of Sarajevo. Her current research interests include violence against women, human trafficking, and international criminal justice issues, with special expertise regarding the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. E-mail: lmuftic@gsu.edu
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