Committee members ask city to review reports that Monroe may be a pass-through for human trafficking

A committee member told the Public Safety Committee that they had heard reports that the city of Monroe might be functioning as a pass-through for human trafficking and asked whether the city could adopt an ordinance or other action that would create consequences for perpetrators.

The committee member said, "I've heard a couple of times about, Monroe the city of Monroe being I'll call it a pass through for human trafficking," and urged follow-up. A Police Department official responded that the material the committee had heard "came from the past" and "was not ever really verified," and recommended involving the city attorney for further review. Committee members agreed to place the topic on a future agenda so the matter could be discussed in more depth with legal counsel and staff.

The discussion did not produce a formal investigative directive or ordinance; the committee framed the exchange as an item for further study and asked staff to add it to a future agenda to avoid an open-meetings violation by discussing the matter outside of a posted meeting.