Blog
As our team joins the Juvenile Sex-Trafficking Conference in Orlando, Florida, hosted by Shared Hope International, Marinus Analytics is releasing new data on the Sex-Trafficking-Child Welfare Nexus.
Marinus Analytics’ Head of Global Engagement attended The Medaille Trust’s 10th International Criminal Justice Conference in Albania from 3–7 November, contributing expertise on human trafficking and strengthening partnerships with law enforcement and NGOs combating exploitation.
In October 2025, the Human Trafficking Training Center, led by Dan Nash, coordinated a first-of-its-kind nationwide proactive safeguarding effort—Operation Coast-to-Coast—organized out of the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
We are delighted that our UK and Europe Director, Ian Kearns, took part in the III International Congress on Human Trafficking, organized by Betania and taking place at the Caixa Forum in Madrid, Thursday September 11.
On September 3rd, the Marinus Analytics team had the honor of returning to the IAHTI Conference in Clearwater, FL. We were grateful for the chance to reconnect with the global community of investigators, child welfare experts, and frontline professionals dedicated to combating human trafficking.
We are very pleased and proud that our colleague, Colin Ward, represented Marinus Analytics by speaking on the subject of human trafficking and our role in addressing it at the United Nations on June 30, 2025. Colin was speaking at The Informal Multi-stakeholder Hearing on Trafficking in Persons – General Assembly, 79th session.
This blog explores the intersection between missing persons cases and sex trafficking, highlighting the overlooked risk factors, investigative blind spots, and the urgent need for coordinated action. From youth in foster care to marginalized communities, the blog sheds light on who is most at risk and why we must do more to protect them.
30 Years, 30 Prizes, 30x Impact. We’re proud to be among the 35,000 competitors who have entered an XPRIZE competition, developing innovative solutions to architect a future of equitable abundance for all. Together, the end of the prize is only the beginning.
As we celebrate our tenth anniversary at Marinus Analytics, we are honored to receive the Innovator of the Year as a Services Solutions Provider award from the Pittsburgh Technology Council & FortyX80 during the Tech50 event.
Other Articles
Out of nearly 800 global competitors, Marinus Analytics takes 3rd place in IBM Watson AI XPRIZE Competition.
Marinus Analytics, the Pittsburgh-based technology company that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to fight human trafficking, has been selected as the lone American finalist for the global $3M IBM Watson AI XPRIZE Competition.
2020 was a challenging year for all of us, and we at Marinus Analytics want to thank the law enforcement, government, and non-profit frontline workers who daily work to protect the vulnerable and end systemic exploitation. During the COVID-19 pandemic we saw examples of how human trafficking and child sex trafficking persist and evolve. Despite the added complications, we saw our Traffic Jam software bring much success to sex trafficking investigations.
Marinus Analytics, the Pittsburgh-based technology company that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to fight human trafficking, has been selected as the lone American finalist for the global $5M IBM Watson AI XPRIZE Competition. It will present its pitch later this year for a chance at the $3 million grand prize.
The National Science Foundation believed in our mission to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to fight human trafficking. Their support through both funding and training helped Marinus Analytics commercialize their university research. With the support of NSF, Marinus Analytics has been able to deploy Traffic Jam to law enforcement from all over the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada to maximize their anti-human trafficking efforts.
Marinus Analytics, which helps law enforcement fight human trafficking, will compete for a $3 million grand prize for demonstrating how humans and AI can collaborate to tackle the world’s greatest challenges
The artificial intelligence technology company is one of 56 companies worldwide selected for its potential to “transform their industries” and improve society
The Pittsburgh non-profit National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA) in partnership with Marinus Analytics and the Auton Lab at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) supported federal law enforcement in a nationwide sex trafficking takedown.
The close of Backpage.com put an end to the single largest site in the U.S. for online sex trafficking. However, ads have moved quickly into other venues online, now surpassing the volume on Backpage.com.
Last month, we had the opportunity to speak about the use of Artificial Intelligence for the benefit of humanity at the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Discover 2018 Conference. We had the chance to share about our work using facial recognition to fight human trafficking, as well as brainstorm and discuss the present and future challenges to ensure ethical use of AI.
It started with an outcry from Allie,* who was pimped 2 years ago by a violent trafficker who went by the name “Julian.”* She told Detective John Patterson,* “I want to get out of this, because of what Julian’s done to me. And he did it to a 15 year old girl, too.”
Marinus Analytics released the following statement after Backpage.com and its affiliate websites were seized by the FBI and other federal agencies. Emily Kennedy, CEO of Marinus Analytics, said:
Marinus Analytics has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) for a project to develop new algorithms to enable predictive decoding of obfuscated text.
This August, four Marinus Analytics team members travelled to Dallas, Texas for the 27th Annual Crimes Against Children Conference.
Educational Blog Series
Human trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar criminal industry that affects over an estimated 40 million people globally. It’s important that everyone recognize the issue and do what they can to help contribute to the fight against it. No matter who you are or what you do, here’s what you can do to help.
Although it is important to stay informed about human trafficking, there are many challenges that make it a much more complicated issue than many think. Here’s what you should be aware of with respect to the accuracy of statistics around human trafficking and the often-overlooked complexities it entails.
Every human trafficking situation is unique. Self-identification as a trafficking victim or survivor can happen along a continuum and in a variety of different ways. More often than not, the tip or report to law enforcement comes from an outside source, rather than the victim self-identifying to law enforcement.
When you think of the people involved in a sex trafficking case, you likely picture the victim as a young girl or woman from a difficult background and the trafficker as an adult male. While this is possible, it’s only one of thousands of possibilities. Here’s why it’s important to rid ourselves of these stereotypes and understand the diversity of victims and traffickers alike.
Law enforcement officers utilize a variety of investigative approaches for different cases. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. For human trafficking and other cases involving exploitation, the best approach an officer can take is the victim-centered approach. So, what is victim-centered policing and why is it important to human trafficking investigations?
On December 10, 2025, the House Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation held a hearing titled “Using Modern Tools to Counter Human Trafficking.” During this hearing, our CEO, Cara Jones, provided testimony on how technology can close critical gaps, strengthen investigations, and support victim-centered outcomes through innovative tools and cross-sector collaboration.