US Attorney General Merrick Garland Monday released the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) new National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, signaling a new executive effort to disrupt human trafficking networks and assist victims of trafficking.

The new strategy draws its mandate from several pieces of legislation, including the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. The plan is intended to introduce a series of new DOJ initiatives that will complement government-wide federal anti-trafficking efforts, as well as better coordinate activities with other agencies.

Specifically, the strategy will prioritize new victim screening protocols, provide better training to law enforcement to identify trafficking and increase capacity to provide victim-centered assistance to trafficking survivors, including through financial restoration. The plan will be implemented under the office of the National Human Trafficking Coordinator, who answers to the Attorney General.

Calling human trafficking “an insidious crime,” Attorney General Garland pledged to bring the “full force of the Department to this fight.” The DOJ has estimated that more than 20 million people worldwide are trafficked or forced into labor, while the US National Human Trafficking Hotline has reported more than 10,000 human trafficking cases were reported in the US in 2020.