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Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, Ontario Provincial Police, and the Ontario Police College Partner on Audio Presentation to Raise Awareness About Human Trafficking
For Immediate Release: February 26, 2024
(Toronto, ON) – The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP), the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), and the Ontario Police College (OPC) have released a 20-minute audio presentation featuring crime prevention experts discussing human trafficking, how it can happen, who is at risk, and the warning signs.
Human trafficking is one of the fastest-growing crimes in Ontario and worldwide. It is a serious criminal offence under the Criminal Code of Canada that can include recruiting, harbouring, or controlling a person’s movements using force, physical or psychological coercion, or deception. Traffickers often force their victims into labour (domestic, physical, or manual labour) or perform sexual acts in exchange for monetary gain. In Ontario, sex trafficking is the most commonly reported form of human trafficking.
Traffickers identify and target a person’s vulnerabilities to gain trust and form a bond. They often identify and fulfill a person’s needs, and then use that dependence to control and exploit them.
Some people who are trafficked are controlled and monitored constantly and don’t have the opportunity and/or are afraid to ask for help. They may also be manipulated to believe that the trafficker is the only person who cares about them and that they are best off staying with their trafficker.
Police across Ontario encourage the public to become familiar with the signs of human trafficking and to be aware that it can happen to them and the people they love. To learn more about human trafficking, visit https://www.canadianhumantraffickinghotline.ca/. If you are a victim or know someone who may be, contact your local police service to report the crime. Please also report such crimes to the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline (CHTH) at 1-833-900-1010 or online on the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline website.
For additional information on people at risk of being trafficked, signs that someone may be trafficked, and to learn what Ontario is doing to combat human trafficking, please visit https://www.ontario.ca/page/recognizing-human-trafficking.
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Quotes:
“Human trafficking is a heinous crime that knows no boundaries. Traffickers prey on some of the most vulnerable people in our society and around the world. Police professionals see the devastation that these crimes cause. This audio presentation seeks to raise public awareness, which is key as we seek to stop human trafficking in its tracks.”
Jim MacSween, Chief of Police, York Regional Police and
President of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police
“Our duty is to protect communities, especially the most vulnerable. Due to the transient nature of this crime, law enforcement cannot combat human trafficking alone – we rely on our community partners and on the public to amplify the message. Be vigilant, report it to police and help victims become survivors.”
Commissioner Thomas Carrique, Ontario Provincial Police
“Human trafficking requires a multi-sectoral, collaborative approach that is responsive to both the needs of victims and survivors while holding perpetrators accountable.”
Carolyn Fraser, Deputy Director of Leadership Training, Ontario Police College
For more information, contact:
José Luís (Joe) Couto
Director of Government Relations & Communications
T. (416) 926-0424 ext. 22
C. (416) 919-9798
E. media@oacp.ca
X: @OACPOfficial
@OACPCertificate
Facebook:
http://facebook.com/OACPOfficial
Instagram: @OACPOfficial
YouTube:
http://youtube.com/OACPOfficial
The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police is the Voice of Ontario’s Police Leaders
Members of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police serve their communities as the senior police leaders in municipal, regional, provincial, national, and Indigenous police services across Ontario
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