The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office recently promoted two deputies to become the first Human Trafficking Investigators in the department. The two positions are funded by the Anti-Human Trafficking Grant that was approved by the Arizona State Legislature and signed by the Governor last session. The two investigators will work with PANT, Partners Against Narcotics Trafficking, a multi-agency task force in Yavapai County. The investigators are tasked with driving down demand for and assisting the victims of sex trafficking. It is estimated that there are between 30 and 50 victims of sex trafficking currently in Yavapai County. Sex traffickers do not only target immigrants from other countries, they also prey on the young and others who are estranged from their families, live in poverty or susceptible to grooming in other ways. Since 2013 there have been numerous sting operations in Yavapai County executed with partner agencies, including the last two that yielded the arrest of eight people trying to hire underage girls.