State leaders announce new Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - The state will soon launch a new effort to combat human trafficking.

Friday Governor Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr announced the formation of a Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit under the Georgia Department of Law.

State lawmakers allocated $370,000 in the upcoming budget to pay for the unit, which will include six positions from a crime analyst to a senior prosecutor.

"The state has had the authority to prosecute human trafficking, but we just haven't had the resources or the budget," explained Carr.  "So, to have these six individuals that will be a part of our Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit to leverage that with the federal, state and local partners gets the state more involved in the fight." 

Carr said he plans to hire the senior prosecutor position first and then build the team from there.

"The dedicated staff of the new unit will work every day to hold the bad actors accountable and to protect our most vulnerable from this terrible industry," said Gov. Kemp. 

The unit will begin with the new fiscal year July 1.