Avery Beaton
The Upstate Crime Analysis Center (UCAC) is hosting the annual TraffickTrace 25 on November 13th and 14th. This two-day event is designed to help students learn more about sex trafficking investigations.
At this event, students hear from sex trafficking victims, as well as law enforcement officials. Participants also get hands-on experience, helping to assist in investigations through open-source intelligence (OSINT).
Formerly known as Hackathon, Upstate has partnered with local organizations Switch and Upstate Underground. These groups focus on raising awareness and ending sex trafficking in the upstate.
Haney said, “The UCAC mission is to increase visibility and education of crime analysis in upstate South Carolina. That’s the purpose of the event.”
Students will learn about sex trafficking patterns in the Greenville area. They then will work with OSINT to find leads to pass on to law enforcement. At previous events, students have gotten close to identifying and connecting information to victims.
Breanna Haney, Director of the Upstate Crime Analysis Center, focuses on serving not just Upstate students, but the community as well. Haney said, “The center is inward and outward facing, we serve our university by our students and the crime analysis concentration. But we also serve law enforcement and the community, so we’re outward-facing too.”
TraffickTrace 25 is open for Upstate students and community members. Registration is required prior to the event. There is a 50% discount code for Upstate students, faculty, and staff.
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