Investigating with Law Enforcement – Law enforcement should be the primary

Investigating with Law Enforcement – Law enforcement should be the primary investigator of all felony reports of abuse received by MDCPS, including human trafficking. MDCPS will not initiate an investigation of a human-trafficking report without law enforcement. MDCPS will provide law enforcement with all names and facts known at the time of the report and disclose all facts discovered during the investigation. If local law enforcement does not respond or refuses to accompany the MDCPS investigator, the investigator should contact the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation Human Trafficking Special Victim’s Unit investigator in their area, or the Human Trafficking investigator for the Attorney General’s Office. MDCPS and law enforcement must jointly investigate the reported trafficking and file a preliminary report with the prosecutor’s office within twenty-four (24) hours of the preliminary investigation. An MDCPS worker must immediately respond to the scene or location chosen by law enforcement if an officer requests assistance with a child s/he reasonably suspects is a victim of human trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation. This applies only if the law enforcement officer requests MDCPS assistance through the MDCPS hotline.