Image via WikipediaJuly 19, 2011
By Niagara Falls Review
Updated 6 hours ago
The province will divvy up $1 million in funding to seven different police forces – including Niagara Regional Police – to combat human trafficking in Ontario.
The announcement was made by St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley, Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, in front of the Whirlpool Bridge in Niagara Falls Monday morning.
The bridge is one of Niagara's four ports of entry into Ontario, making the region a prime locale for preventive measures, said Bradley.
"Many of the victims are young women forced to work in the sex industry," he said. "Human trafficking is a heinous crime. It makes victims of particularly vulnerable members of society."
Often described as modern day slavery, human trafficking is a lucrative criminal industry. Unlike human smuggling,in which a person willingly hires someone to help them illegally cross a border, trafficking involves people held against their will, usually forced into manual labour or the sex trade once they enter the country.
"Human trafficking is one of the most outrageous and appalling crimes that we face in Ontario, in Canada and around the world," said Bradley.
The funds will help police with special investigations into the sex trade, create education campaigns for potential victims and witnesses, increase surveillance, improve officer training and support human trafficking investigators.
"Traffickers range from opportunistic individuals to sophisticated criminal organizations," said Niagara Regional Police chief Wendy Southall. "The Niagara Region has been identified as an important and frequently used link in the human trafficking chain across Ontario."
In addition to Niagara, police services in Peel, Windsor, Hamilton, York and Halton will share the funding, along with the Ontario Provincial Police in partnership with Anishinabek, Nishnawbe-Aski and Treaty Three Police services.
The RCMP estimates about 600 to 800 people are trafficked into Canada every year.
"The numbers cannot adequately express the horror that human trafficking represents," said Andrew Fletcher, deputy chief of Halton Regional Police and chair of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police.
"Each crime is nothing short of modern day slavery. It exploits innocent people, often from the sex trade, or in the forced labour industry."
He said the masterminds behind the operation will often use "an array of methods" to control their subjects, "including physical, sexual and emotional abuse."
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty did not attend the event.
While he applauds any effort to stop human trafficking, Niagara Falls NDP candidate Wayne Redekop has doubts $1 million will make much of a dent.
"Our concern is that a million dollars spread over seven communities and regions isn't going to go terribly far," he said. "Particularly if it's only a one-off commitment.
"If you want to tackle human trafficking, make a real impact and put those who participate in the crimes into jail … you've got to allocate significant resources and make sure the police services involved can do the work."
Source: Niagara Falls Review - Ontario, CA
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