New Jersey Opens Hotline To Help Battle Human Trafficking

By David Madden

TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- New Jersey has been working to battle the problem of human trafficking within the state. This week, the Attorney General's Office opened a round the clock hotline for people to report any suspicions.

It amounts to modern day slavery -- kids and adults alike exploited for cheap labor or the sex trade by means of coercion. And Acting Attorney General John Hoffman can cite several cases where it's gone on right in the open -- with people oblivious to it all.

"It just goes to show that it could happen next door," Hoffman says, "and that's why we want to make sure that there's very easily accessible hotline that people can pick up a call and say 'Hey, you know, I noticed some activity that seemed a little curious.'"

That hotline is 855-END-NJ-HT.

So why set this up now?

Well, the Super Bowl is coming to the Meadowlands in February, and other host cities have noticed an uptick in prostitution, particularly during the week before the big game.

"Other host cities said 'Look. You have to be careful. There's a lot of activity like this that's going on,'" says Hoffman, "'and there are a lot of people that are brought in to sort of service the money and people that are coming in.'"

Hoffman wants to try to keep that to a minimum.