This combination of streamlining workflows and increasing successful victim identification is what has propelled Spotlight to continue to grow its user base. Sign in. I started by conducting a competitive and stakeholder analysis to help with the overall discovery of where we were with our current process. <> Thorn has created a program called Spotlight. result in increased adoption of Thorns tools, a reduction in time to stop abuse and an increase in risk for perpetrators. We are dedicated to ending child sex trafficking and eliminating child sexual abuse from the internet, and we wont stop until every child can simply be a kid. After the sting operation, we sat down with FVTC and the DOJ to put together the curriculum for Spotlight Lab. We believe that every child has the right to be safe, to be curious, to be happy. In the last five years, we have reached more than 2.6 million people globally through our child pornography deterrence program. Additionally, through my stakeholder analysis, I focused on Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) - a leading law enforcement education center - and the DOJ (both of whom I know, because I currently consult for them on human trafficking). All Rights Reserved, thorn.org, Hear more from investigators using Spotlight on the front lines, surveyed underage sex trafficking victims. Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? It went from beta in Summer 2014, to extended beta in Fall 2014, to a national roll-out in Winter 2015. Empowering law enforcement to collaborate beyond jurisdictions or national borders, is a key to success in identifying victims who are moved frequently, or are broadcast in P2P onthe dark web from a hidden location. We believe that technology is a tool, one we can use for incredible good. Spotlight takes this massive amount of data and turns it into an asset for law enforcement. endobj Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this Web site (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided). With only a 25% response rate, were confident these numbers represent the low end of our impact. endstream Try a low commitment monthly plan today. "Day to day, we strive to balance hard work with care for ourselves and each other so that we have the resiliency we need to keep fighting," Kelbi writes, "At Thorn, we are invested in a team wellness plan where we carve out time to discuss how were feeling and how were approaching our work. Don't recognize this agency? Thorn Helps Law Enforcement Identify Child Sex-Trafficking Victims Faster on AWS. We depend on the anti-trafficking community to keep our resource hub up to date. %PDF-1.7 <> Please check your inbox in order to proceed. There are over 150,000 escort ads posted daily, and Spotlight takes this massive amount of data and turns it into an asset for law enforcement. Law enforcement doesnt have enough time to navigate the online commercial sex market to find children and identify their traffickers. "It didn't make sense to build our own facial-recognition service when AWS already offers a best-in-breed solution like Amazon Rekognition. Problems of scale like this cry out for automated processes, but another big obstacle is the fact that escort ad data is anything but consistent: traffickers use code words, slang, and reused content to complicate detection by machines. Spotlight is a robust search tool that uses machine learning to help law enforcement identify victims of trafficking online. Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. Spotlight's machine-learning models analyze new escort ads in real time and use intelligent image analysis and natural-language processing (NLP) to flag those that match risk profiles developed in cooperation with law enforcement agencies. The software, called Spotlight, is now used across all 50 states by more than 4,000 law enforcement officers, according to Thorns website. endobj Vietnam. A virtual team based in the U.S., Thorn employs 25 people. Thorn has created a program called Spotlight. Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? A leading assumption was that users wanted to learn by doing, so we used the outcomes from the New Orleans sting operation as a hands-on case study. Thorn's Spotlight tool helps law enforcement more quickly identify sex trafficking victims who are advertised online. Expanded partnerships with law enforcement. To help investigators overcome these and other hurdles, Thorn collaborated with AWS and Digital Reasoning, a company specializing in cognitive-computing solutions, to build Spotlight. Over the past year, reports show that we are identifying on average 8 kids per dayand that law enforcement who use Spotlight daily see a 65% time savings in their process. I get results fast allowing me to to gather important evidence and information in minutes compared to hours. from UCLA and an M.B.A. from Northwestern. This website is funded through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. AWS Lambda functions orchestrate Amazon Simple Queueing Service (Amazon SQS) to queue new ads for processing by the app's analytics engine, Digital Reasoning Synthesys. The internet has become a widely used place for sex traffickers to advertise. $15/mo. Spotlight, which is offered free of charge to law enforcement and allied organizations, uses Amazon Cognito to provide a secure user directory that can scale to millions of users. x Om7 ' Eventually, I reached out to them, and we agreed to partner and co-teach a Spotlight Lab workshop at major conferences across the Nation to drive awareness and adoption. There are over 150,000 escort ads posted daily, and Spotlight takes this massive amount of data and turns it into an asset for law enforcement. Our tools take massive amounts of data and turns it into an asset for law enforcement. By the end of my first year at Thorn, I had played a role in developing strategic partnerships with FVTC and the DOJ, designing a Spotlight Lab to effectively train potential and new users, and designing a Spotlight product website and a corresponding on-boarding process. Spotlight has been used in 21,044 cases identifying 12,328 adults, 5,791 children, and 6,553 traffickers in the past two years. is the CEO of Thorn and has helped grow the organization from inception in 2012. She previously served as the VP of Marketing/Communications of (RED), where she helped establish the brand as one of the most successful cause marketing initiatives in history, delivering more than $160 million to fight HIV/AIDS across Africa. Based on IRS CI's FY 2021 Annual Report, here are five top enforcement priorities that are likely to carry over into 2022: 1. To request technical assistance, training, or other resources through this initiative, agency POCs shouldemail usor call 202-833-1460. These recent survey results confirm our initial hypothesis that Spotlight has indeed been an asset for law enforcement in earlier victim identification, collaboration and productivity. A verification email has been sent to you. However, the following six districts 1 0 obj HTS creates a blog, publishes research, and hosts a global resource database on human trafficking and modern-day slavery. "Spotlight was designed based on insights from our first survivor survey. We work with the sharpest minds from tech, non-profit, government and law enforcement to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material, stand up to child traffickers and uncover new kinds of abuse. Throughout this process, I worked collaboratively with Media Cause and Digital Reasoning to set timelines and execute. endobj With the approval of the Thorn CEO, I led the design of a Spotlight product website and managed our vendors, Media Cause and Digital Reasoning - who were in charge of graphic design and engineering development. Thorn's Spotlight tool combines publicly available classified ad and online forum data with smart algorithms to help law enforcement identify an average of eight child sex trafficking victims every day. $10/mo. Copyright 2023 IBTimes LLC. GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center. I was given the goal of on-boarding 250 users in the next six months. Our web-based tool is now used by over 5,000 officers in all 50 states and Canada. Just within the last 12 months investigators reported: Officers who login weekly report a time savings of 60% in their human trafficking investigations. This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ. Half of our 26 person staff are engineers and product managers focused on technology innovation and deployment. "Permitted Use" means any use of the Services by an Authorized User for the benefit of Customer solely for supporting his or her law enforcement, social services, academic or other similar professional role, including to detect criminal actions, identify missing/exploited victims, or measure statistical trends surrounding the adult services . $120/yr. Editor's Pick Leise Hook / For Spotlight PA Finally, we designed marketing collateral to drive further customer acquisition. Learn more about Spotlight. Our brand NoFiltr reaches youth directly with prevention and support messaging to help them better recognize online grooming. $300/yr. After the 2015 Atlanta ICAC Conference, we quickly realized that we needed a better on-boarding process that no longer relied solely on Google Sheets to manage requests. Our programs and products find child abuse victims faster, make online environments safer, and deter criminal behavior. about GuideStar Pro. Nothing makes my job more rewarding when a victim says "thank you" and tells me about her rebuilt life. Thorn builds technology to defend children from sexual abuse. The organization's co-leader identifies as: Already have a GuideStar Account? My background in law enforcement and anti-human trafficking was well suited for the needs of Spotlight when I first joined the team. The software, called Spotlight, is now used across all 50 states by more than 4,000 law enforcement officers, according to Thorn's website. Thorn was founded in 2012 to build technology to defend children from sexual abuse. Human Trafficking Search (HTS) seeks to raise awareness and help prevent and eliminate human trafficking worldwide. After the 2015 Atlanta ICAC Conference, we quickly realized that we needed a better on-boarding process that no longer relied solely on Google Sheets to manage requests. In addition to a powerful team of experts, we work with the sharpest minds from tech, non-profit, government, and law enforcement to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material, stand up to child traffickers, and uncover new kinds of abuse. 2023, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. and who do the programs serve? Click here to resend it.). 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