Capital Profile - Andra Ackerman

Andra Ackerman
Director of Human Trafficking Prevention and Policy

Age: 37

Home: Cohoes

What she does: Since last year, Ackerman has worked at the Division of Criminal Justice Services training police agencies, prosecutors and state law enforcement officials on New York's new human trafficking law and how to use it. The law took effect in November 2007, boosting prison time for those convicted of trafficking, or "modern-day slavery" in which victims are forced into the sex trade or another form of labor.

How she got there: Headed the Schenectady County District Attorney's Office Special Victims Unit beginning in March 2005; before that, she worked as assistant district attorney in Albany County for four years; briefly worked at Troy-based Pechenik & Curro law firm; and served as assistant district attorney in Rensselaer County for a year and a half. Ackerman earned her law degree in 1999 from the State University at Buffalo's School of Law, her bachelor's degree in political science from Siena College in 1994, and her associates degree in criminal justice from Hudson Valley Community College in 1991.

Personal: Single. Grew up in foster care in the Capital Region. Graduated from Averill Park High School.

How does your new job combating human trafficking compare with prosecuting sex crimes?
"It's very different — to be so long in the trenches, so to speak, really working with the victims and the court system, to now being at a state agency where the beautiful part of it is being able to affect change; to not only affect one community, but all the communities in New York state."

What is the scope of human trafficking in New York?

"Society is changing, and along with that are the ways that (criminals) are pulling victims into human trafficking. There are many cases where women are pulled in from the bordering states and countries. But they're also pulled in from the Internet. And they take runaway kids, for example, from areas like MySpace and Craigslist, and they literally lure them into prostitution and use the same means as traffickers. Really, the (new) law applies to them as well."

Human trafficking is often associated with immigrants from foreign countries? Does that hold true?
"That is correct — but it's not just outside of this country. ... There are just as many victims who are domestic victims. It literally can be happening down the street. It's really insecure, troubled kids who are offered an opportunity to change their lives — and it's not the change they were looking for."

On the unique problem human trafficking presents:

"Human trafficking is different from every other crime that I've seen ... (The victims are) not running to police, they're running away from police. ... They think in their mind that they're committing a crime, and they're told that. So here you have a situation where somebody appears to be a prostitute. They're afraid of law enforcement and law enforcement, old-school, has looked at them as prostitutes. What we're doing here is to try to show and teach law enforcement to look outside the box. ... These perpetrators use that fear of law enforcement as a tool, and that's different from all other cases that I've handled, because the victims really feel like they're part of this crime, too. They're made to believe that."


On her experience in foster care and its impact on her career:
"A lot of the work I do now is because of that. It's really being a voice for kids. What I love about this job is I helps me affect kids' lives on a state level, not just in the community. The community is great, but this job allows me to do it in every community around New York. And if I didn't have that experience when I was younger, I may not be here. ... A lot of these kids abused are in foster care. If you haven't been there, it's so hard to understand. But being there, and you look at them and you tell them you been there, they're eyes get big. They really open up to you they talk to you."

What would you tell victims if they could see your words?
"I'd say, 'Take a moment, Trust us. Give us your time — we can provide you the services you need and we can help you. And really, New York state is there for you. It's true."

— Robert Gavin
First published: Monday, October 13, 2008