Chronicle Issue 09 all-pages-1-28

Community chronicle.durhamcollege.ca March 20 - 26, 2018 The Chronicle 9
Human trafficking 'prevalent' in Durham
This is part one of a two-part series on
human trafficking in Durham. Part two
will appear in Issue 10.
Shanelle Somers
and Shana Fillatrau
The Chronicle
Durham Region is on the 401,
making it a hot-bed for human
trafficking because victims are
easily and quickly moved around
from city to city. Hotels along the
highway make it easy for pimps to
hide these women in plain sight.
Jason Price, detective constable
in the Durham Regional Police
Services human-trafficking unit,
says many of the hotel owners and
staff have been educated on the
warning signs. He says one of their
most recent investigations started
with a tip from a hotel staffer.
Hotels and motels along Kingston
Road are known to be temporary
housing to pimps, victims and
their clients. Toronto Police have
a project focusing on these hotels
named Hotel Tango 2.
They are living “very transient”
lifestyles, according to Price. They
are forced to service (a professional
term used by traffickers to describe
a woman engaging in forced sexual
activity), fed minimal and/or poor
food and are sometimes denied
feminine hygiene products.
“People would be surprised to
know how prevalent it is in the hotels
within the region,” says Price.
“The members of the public would
be baffled at how active it is, the
ages of the girls that are involved
and the amount of money that’s
being spent on it.”
What can you do to keep your
loved ones from ending up in these
hotels? Pay attention, says Price.
Young women with low self-esteem
are especially vulnerable. There
are many red flags, according to
Price.
These include unexplained gifts
or money, long absences, change in
mental health, multiple cellphones
and new friends or boyfriend.
Jeff Tucker, another detective
constable in the human-trafficking
unit of seven, says, “I think that
would really shock the public to see
that these are the girls next door.”
In Durham, Tucker says their
youngest victim was 13-years-old.
She was first trafficked at the age
of nine.
Within the last few months,
Tucker says they’re seeing girls 14
and 15-years-old being victimized
the most.
The most common tactic is
called the “boyfriend trafficker.”
A younger pimp is used to lure in
the girls with affection, romance
and gifts. The relationship usually
moves quickly and the boyfriend
makes a lot of promises he can’t
keep, like marriage or moving in
together.
This makes the girl feel loved
and secure, especially if she has
low self-esteem. Then the boyfriend
comes into trouble. He needs
money and the girl is expected to
help. It usually starts when he asks
her to do one explicit activity -
stripping, or service a client just
one time. If she does, she’s trapped.
This is also called the “Romeo
Pimp.”
Durham Regional Police Services human trafficking unit officers Jason Price (left) and Jeff Tucker.
These girls also need to be wary
of female lures as well. These traffickers
are called the “Bottom
B**ch.” This is when the main
pimp picks his “best girl” to recruit
for him. She is busy, therefore services
less so it motivates her to do
his dirty work.
The police officers also feel social
media has made things harder.
Price says, “It’s certainly has grown
because of social media.”
Another unforeseen effect of social
media, as well as pop culture,
according to Tucker, is girls are
being desensitized.
The elaborate and expensive
lives they see on TV and in movies,
“that’s the lifestyle that these guys
are selling. Bottom line, it’s an easy
sell.” Price says, “The younger they
are, the easier it is for them to do.”
These are some of the reasons
why Tucker and Price feel it’s important
to raise awareness about
the issue.
“This is Canada, this is not
something that should be allowed
or tolerated. We need to make sure
those folks who do this are punished
to the true extent of the law,”
says John Henry, Oshawa mayor.
Police give presentations about
the warning signs to young girls.
The presentation is only given to
females because they don’t want to
give males tools on how to traffic
girls.
This educates teachers on the red
I think that would shock the public
to see that these are the
girls next door.
flags, as well.
Teachers within the Durham
Region have played a key role in
successfully identifying students
who may be a victim of human
trafficking. Tucker says, “To date,
any teacher or VP has been correct.”
Price says the unit gets their
leads from teachers, parents or
Crime Stoppers.
Tucker’s his main concern is
getting through to the victim.
“They’ve been brainwashed by the
person who’s controlling them,” he
says.
But these traffickers can sometimes
be difficult to track, partly
due to technology. Texting apps
make it difficult to keep track of
phone records and pre-paid credit
cards can make it almost impossible
to keep record of the pimp’s
purchases.
Project Protect is an initiative
working to support police to combat
this.
The initiative started in 2016 and
was introduced in partnership with
Financial Transactions and Reports
Analysis Centre of Canada,
known as FinTrac.
FinTrac works with Canada’s
five major banks to follow the
transactions of traffickers. They
monitor suspicious purchases such
as multiple hotel stays, motel bookings,
pharmacy purchases, latenight
ATM deposits and Uber or
taxi payments.
Once a suspicious transaction is
found, FinTrac will notify law enforcement.
FinTrac has been a successful aid
in providing tips to police across
Canada and gathering evidence
against alleged human traffickers.
BMO banker and coordinator
of Project Protect, Peter Warrack,
says one of the main ways they are
able to flag suspicious activity is
through advertisement purchases.
However, they are not tracking
ordinary advertisement purchases
you typically see online. These ads
are specifically made, purchased
and marketed for escort service
websites like backpages.com, a
website many men visit to purchase
young trafficked girls and/
or women.
Warrack says BMO cross-references
transaction systems and flags
people or companies who are making
payments towards those types
of ads.
“We have noticed that almost 99
per cent of these ads are on backpages.com,”
says Warrack.
To date, Durham Regional
Police have not received any tips
from FinTrac but they do rely on
the similar strategies when gathering
evidence against a human
trafficker.
“I can tell you that I’m proud of
the work they do each and every
day and you know you can see the
difference that they make in communities.
But it’s only through
help through the community that
we can fix things. So if you know
something that’s wrong please take
the opportunity to contact the
regional police,” says mayor Henry.
Ontario’s Ministry of Community
and Social Services is also developing
strategies to stop human
trafficking.
Jennifer Richardson, Director of
the Provincial Anti-Human Trafficking
Coordination Office, says,
“Two out of three police reported
Photograph by Shana Fillatrau
cases of human trafficking in Canada
are in Ontario.” Recognizing
how vigorous human trafficking is
within Ontario despite the sparsity
of data available, the provincial
government has invested 72 million
dollars towards holding human
traffickers accountable, educating
communities, and developing Indigenous-led
approaches to stop
trafficking.
“We are the third province in
Canada to have a strategy to fight
human trafficking … and as far as
I am aware, it is one of the largest
financial investments in North
America,” says Richardson, who
was recently on a panel as part of a
human trafficking prevention event
held at the University of Ontario
Institute of Technology.
The provincial government also
realizes the importance of working
with people who have been involved
in trafficking and affected
by trafficking. Richardson says
they work with a lot of people who
are experienced and who have been
involved in trafficking. “One of my
bosses comes from lived experience,”
says Richardson.
These professionals believe it is
important to be passionate about
stopping human trafficking. Tucker
says, “You can’t help but be emotionally
invested.”
Human trafficking is happening
in Durham but knowing the red
flags can make a difference in a
potential victim’s life.
Mayor Henry says the public
needs to be part of the solution in
ending human trafficking.
“You have a voice. Our democracy
is a democracy that demands
participation. So if you see something
that’s wrong take the time,
make the call, send the email, let’s
work together to make Canada the
greatest place to live. We can do
this if we work together. You know
being silent doesn’t help the issue,”
says mayor Henry.