Statements
Mission
Our mission is to educate and create actionable solutions to preventing and combating human trafficking in Tennessee.
Background
Operation Rose was founded by Robert Young in January of 2021. The founding of this organization was driven through his professional experience and connection to this industry through prior employment and law enforcement. As the CEO of Covert Results, LLC, a private investigations, professional security, and training firm, Robert knew he had access to the information and expert investigators to assist in combating human trafficking in Tennessee. Operation Rose, in the first year of existence, has recruited a first class team of board members and community associates who are dedicated to furthering Operation Rose's mission of educating the hospitality industry on human trafficking. The team at Operation Rose has formatted Workshops Against Neighborhood Trafficking (WANT) that will be offered to hospitality industry at no charge.
Ultimately the workshops will lead to tips from employees in the hospitality industry in which a team of licensed private investigators with human trafficking training will be deployed to work alongside and parallel to law enforcement to effectively combat human trafficking. On 11-16-2021 Operation Rose attended the Metro Nashville Council meeting where their resolution was presented and passed. The resolution strongly encourages the hospitality industry to take live, in-person training to educate the hotels and motels on human trafficking and also to post signage denouncing human trafficking with posted help lines (numbers) in English and Spanish.
Operation Rose is proud to have connections with other human trafficking organizations and hopes to continue to support their efforts of recovery and rehabilitation of survivors. However, Operation Rose hopes to provide education and investigations through their partnerships with investigations firms and law enforcement in an effort to expand the services already available to the community. Operation Rose to date has been funded through small community donations and volunteers. At this time there is no broad funding to report.
Impact
Human Trafficking Awareness and Recognition Training through live in-person workshops aimed to educate the hospitality Industry. Currently, The State of Tennessee recommends the hospitality industry to post signage. There is no suggestion or official recommendation that require members of the hospitality industry to be educated on human trafficking. As a result, many trainings are online or not conducted at all. There are over 55,000 available hotel and motel rooms in Nashville, Tennessee alone. There are also thousands of other hotels and motels in Tennessee. These locations are frequented by human traffickers and if educated properly, the staff could provide a meaningful source of information to those working to combat and stop human trafficking.
What has been done?
In the first year of Operation Rose, its board and founder have worked tirelessly to make community connections that can further their mission for education on the subject of human trafficking. The organization has established a tip line that will field calls and provide any necessary investigative services that may be needed. Additionally the Operation Rose team hopes to assist other established non-profits and law enforcement with any investigative services they may need to combat human trafficking. In that time Operation Rose has been able to pursue the passing of a Resolution in the Metro Nashville Council for a strong recommendation of training in the hospitality industry as well as suggesting a working relationship between law enforcement, the hospitality industry, non-profits including Operation Rose and it's private partner Covert Results, LLC. This second Resolution portion is highlighted through Operation Rose due to its connection to licensed and training private investigators who can assist in investigative efforts to further prosecution against known human traffickers. This Resolution was passed on 11-16-2021. With this additional support from the Nashville Community, Operation Rose has and will continue to present Workshops Against Neighborhood Trafficking (WANT). These programs will be geared toward educating individuals in the hospitality industry on ways they can combat human trafficking within their organizations and communities. After completion of the training, the establishment will be issued a certificate of completion and our logo to display at the entrance. The Operation Rose logo will become a symbol of safety and a deterrence for potential traffickers.
Impact.
Targeting the hospitality industry, hotels and motels could impact:
-500 hotels in Davidson County/Middle Tennessee
-Thousands in TN
-Hundreds of thousands potential employees in hospitality industry across the state and beyond
Needs
Financial costs for Operation Rose
-Services for trainers at WANT workshops
-Including travel, time, and other misc expenses
-Training to licensed private investigators on human trafficking
-Potential need of payment for renting facilities to teach (depending on location)
-Investigative services on any potential cases that may arise via tip line
CEO Statement
My passion is helping my community and investigations, but there are limitations to utilizing those skills in the real world, especially if you are not tied to a government entity. After an intense 11 years with the Metro Nashville Police Department focusing on taking down large drug trafficking organizations through wiretaps, I decided to try something even more challenging...becoming a business owner. After several years owning Covert Results, a private investigations and security firm, I thought I could do even more for my community. After collaborating with other investigators and human trafficking experts we founded Operation Rose. The mission is to be proactive and create actionable solutions through training and workshops for the hospitality industry.
When I learned that our state, the great state of Tennessee, also known as the "Volunteer" state did not have any rules or regulations regarding training the hospitality industry on the signs of human trafficking, I was shocked. Currently 15 states have laws pertaining to training the hospitality industry on recognizing the signs of human trafficking; four make it a requirement. Tennessee only recommends that if an establishment choses, they should place a sign denouncing human trafficking and it must be a specific size...that's it!
Within the first month of receiving our 501(c)(3) status we hit the ground running. In meeting various community members and raising awareness we met with a Metro Council member who suggested we draft a resolution. In just two months time we passed a resolution that now has the signature of the Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee.
As we train the hospitality industry through Workshops Against Neighborhood Trafficking, Once the training is complete, the establishment will receive certifications that can be posted for public view. This will make the hotel or motel a symbol of safety, as well as act as a deterrent to potential traffickers. Through the workshops, Operation Rose will receive tips of this ongoing crime. Licensed private investigators with human trafficking training will be deployed to work alongside law enforcement to gather intelligence to put these traffickers behind bars. This is our vision, our mission, and what we are going to do to create actionable solutions for our community.
Board Chair Statement
Jason Mayo is the current president of Operation Rose and will soon become the Director of Training & Outreach
After 21 years serving at the Metro Nashville Police Department I decided to pursue a career as a private investigator and security consultant with Covert Results. For the last 7 years with the Metro Nashville Police Department I worked (solely) human trafficking cases, prosecuting some of the worst cases imaginable. My passion is helping the woman and children that are being trafficked and don't know how to get help. I have sat with hundreds of victims and survivors who have told me their stories.
I knew that based on my training and experience I could share my passion through education and outreach, especially to the people most likely to encounter human trafficking on a day to dat bases...people in the hospitality industry. With my experience shares I will also educate other private investigators and law enforcement to widen the net and catch these traffickers.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Human Services - Alliances & Advocacy |
| Secondary Category: | Education - Alliances & Advocacy |
| Tertiary Category: | Human Services - Alliances & Advocacy |
Areas Served
Operation Rose will start by serving Middle Tennessee and then expand to the entire state of Tennessee. If requested, we would travel to other states to spread the word! We would love to build a model that works and combats human trafficking to have other states adopt our plan and put it into place.
| TN - Davidson |
