Officials to tackle human trafficking

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The governor says more people should be on the state's sex offender registry.
    
Governor Susana Martinez, Mayor R.J. Berry and two New Mexico lawmakers announced plans Sunday to crack down on human trafficking, one of the fastest growing crimes in the U.S.
    
There are three components to the proposed legislation, including a measure that would force anyone charged in this crime to register just like a sex offender.

“This is not republican or democrat issue it's a public safety issue it's about keeping people in our state safe and people who come through or state that they're not being used or abused either,” Martinez said.
    
In New Mexico the main targets of human trafficking are young women and children.
    
The act was not illegal in the state until 2008 and now lawmakers want tougher penalties for any one convicted of the crime..
    
If passed those caught for human trafficking would have to add their names to the sex offender registry and provide a DNA sample for the national database.
    
It would also increase the crime to a second degree felony if the victim is 16-years-old or older and make it a first degree felony if the victim is 15-years-old or younger.
    
The proposal also closes a loophole in the state's current law, making the crime easier to prosecute.

“These ladies and gentlemen with Albuquerque Police Department they go out every day and risk their lives and if they don't have the law behind them they don't have the tools and resources they need from a legal standpoint they simply can't do they job they need to do and want to do,” Berry said.
    
The legislation is expected to be introduced in the state legislature this week.
    
Mayor Berry is also proposing a city ordinance that would crack down on massage parlors.
   
It's an industry lawmakers say is often a gateway to the crime.