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California Says Human Trafficking Is Growing

SAN DIEGO (AP) — California's attorney general says the number of people identified as victims of human trafficking in the state has increased steadily since 2010.

The report released Friday by Kamala Harris says there were 304 victims from April through June of this year, more than triple the number during the same period of 2011.

The number has increased during each three-month period since the fourth quarter of 2010 for a total of nearly 1,300 over two years.

The report says the number of victims is likely higher than the report indicates because many crimes are unreported and the numbers come only from task forces formed to combat human trafficking.

The report offers one of the more detailed assessments in California of a crime that is gaining more attention from law enforcement and the public.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

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