Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond and a panel of experts will attend an event designed to raise awareness of, and recruit help to combat, human trafficking.

[Hear the KRMG In Depth Report on human trafficking in Oklahoma HERE]

Among those in attendance, the director of the AG’s Human Trafficking Response Unit, Kevin Matthews.

Metcalf is the founder of National Child Protection Task Force (NCPTF), and an expert in the field of human trafficking with decades of experience as an investigator and prosecutor.

He recently visited the KRMG studios to discuss his role with the human trafficking response unit, and the upcoming faith leaders summit.

He said the overarching goals are to engage the community, to break down silos between different agencies and organizations, and to bring awareness of the forms - and ubiquity - of human trafficking.

“If we engage with the congregations - with civic organizations, Rotary Club, Lions Club - if we can engage with all these people who are out here meeting weekly and saying ‘hey, we’re gonna do good things, we want to do good things, what can we do?' Hey - come see me, I can give you some stuff.”

Human trafficking is largely misunderstood, and much more prevalent than most people think, Metcalf told KRMG.

Unlike what people see in movies, stranger abductions are exceedingly rare, and most children who get exploited are victimized by members of their own families, usually people addicted to drugs.

“It’s slavery in and of itself, that person is a slave to that addiction,” Metcalf said. “And it comes to a point where that’s more powerful than you taking care of your kids, and those kids become a source of income, a source of drugs. ‘I’ll trade you drugs if you’ll let me have access to your kids.' That is a very, very real scenario, and it plays out every day here in Oklahoma. That is familial trafficking, and that’s just one variation of it.”

Besides trafficking people for sex, there’s a massive worldwide market in forced labor, and Oklahoma is far from immune.

Agriculture may be the primary industry affected by trafficking, but it’s far from the only one, Metcalf said.

“What about our energy industry? What about the really, really dangerous jobs that are out here. Those are places that we need to look, but when I ask you ‘what does labor trafficking look like?’ It looks like people going to work.”

All the more reason to educate the public about spotting the signs of trafficking, and recruiting everyone to pitch in and do what they can to help stop it.

“It’s important for all of your listeners,” Metcalf said. “I don’t care what they do or who they are - they have something to give.”

[Hear the KRMG In Depth Report on human trafficking in Oklahoma HERE]

While registration for the Feb. 21st, 2025 event has closed, one can contact sarah.samples@oag.ok.gov to inquire about attending.