BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards has held a statewide symposium aimed at working on strategies to combat human trafficking in Louisiana.
Edwards and his wife Donna attended the event Wednesday, saying that combating human trafficking is one of their top priorities.
The governor’s office says more than 1,000 human trafficking cases have been reported to the Louisiana State Police over the past three years, with the number of cases rising 25 percent last year.
The symposium drew nearly 600 registrants, according to the governor’s office. The event sought to bring together state leaders and stakeholders fighting human trafficking in Louisiana.