Bellevue Police and BEST team up to fight human trafficking with hotel training

The Bellevue Police Department is partnering with Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) to offer free human trafficking training for hospitality workers on October 9 at Bellevue City Hall, according to a department release.

The event, sponsored by the City of Bellevue’s Human Service Program, will teach hotel employees how to recognize and report potential human trafficking situations.

The training, called Inhospitable to Human Trafficking, is designed to help those in the hospitality industry identify signs of trafficking in hotels and learn how to take appropriate action.

The event will include presentations from BEST and the Bellevue Police Department, as well as a question-and-answer session where attendees can discuss specific incidents they’ve encountered.

“This training will shine a light on the problem of human trafficking in lodging facilities,” said Kirsten Foot, CEO and Executive Director of BEST.

She emphasized that the training provides practical tools to help hotel staff recognize and safely report trafficking activity.

In addition to the general training, Bellevue Police will discuss recent local human trafficking cases.

The department hopes this information will encourage hospitality employees to become more vigilant and increase the number of reports from those who have undergone training. Attendees will receive certificates of completion.

Bellevue Police Chief Wendell Shirley highlighted the importance of community involvement in addressing trafficking.

“Human trafficking is a crime that unfortunately does happen in communities like Bellevue,” he said, urging the public to report suspicious activity and emphasizing the role that businesses play in identifying trafficking.

BEST’s training has a proven track record of effectiveness. A 2019 study by Arizona State University found that 97% of hotel employees who took the course believed it would help prevent trafficking incidents, and 96% reported implementing preventative steps afterward.

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