DURHAM REGIONAL POLICE SERVICES human trafficking UNIT

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  Information released by Durham Radio News....   

A specialized intervention team dedicated to protecting kids and teens from sex traffickers is coming to Durham.

The province is putting $11.5-million over three years into two teams in Toronto and Durham Region.

They’re called Children at Risk of Exploitation, or CARE Units.

According to the province, these units will pair child protection workers with police officers to identify and find children in the sex trafficking industry.

They’ll also connect victims and families with services, investigate crimes and help hold traffickers accountable.

Officials say the program is the first of its kind in Ontario.

“Today’s announcement further underlines our government’s commitment to end human trafficking and reinforces our pledge to build awareness, protect victims, provide support for survivors and hold offenders accountable,” said Solicitor General Sylvia Jones. “With the combined expertise of police services, child protection workers and key community partners in Durham and Toronto, these new CARE Units will provide additional, much-needed resources in our fight against this heinous crime.”

Each unit will have Indigenous Liaison Workers, building on partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children’s aid societies.

Durham’s CARE Unit will partner with the Durham Children’s Aid Society, Dnaagdawenmag Binnoojiiyag Child and Family Services and Durham police.

“In research and literature on human trafficking in Canada, it is acknowledged that Indigenous women and girls are overrepresented as survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation,” explained Amber Crowe, Executive Director, Dnaagdawenmag Binnoojiiyag Child and Family Services. “The root causes of this exploitation include pervasive racist and sexist stereotypes, ongoing marginalization and the normalization of colonial violence. 

It is alarming to note that while Indigenous women only make up four per cent of the Canadian population, they roughly make up 50 per cent of the trafficking victims. Honouring their voice and recognizing the expertise of Indigenous survivors will help to build a knowledge base to address and ultimately combat human trafficking.”

According to national data, the average age of recruitment into sex trafficking in Canada is 13.

 Durham Regional Crime Stoppers is now offering a minimum reward of $1000 for any tip that leads to arrest involving Human Trafficking.Remember: CRIME doesn’t pay but Crime Stoppers does.  Call us toll free at 1-800-222-(TIPS) 8477 OR visit our website to submit your tip   durhamregionalcrimestoppers.ca 

 
Members of the Durham Region Human Trafficking Coalition encourage citizens to visit the website  www.StopHT.com

 
Human Trafficking Hotline905-579-1520 ext 4888  

As many of you may have heard, Toronto Crime Stoppers recently announced they would be suspending payment of cash rewards beginning this year. Funds previously used for rewards will instead go to areas in the city impacted by crime. 

Members of the public are reminded that this project is happening exclusively in Toronto and all other Canadian Crime Stoppers programs, including Durham, continue to offer the availability of cash rewards which are approved by volunteer Crime Stoppers Boards.

According to the Canadian Crime Stoppers Association, the foundation of Crime Stoppers is to protect the anonymity of the tipster.  To encourage the public to report information on criminal activity both proactively and reactively.  Crime Stoppers programs offer the availability of cash rewards up to $2,000.  

Not all tipsters are motivated by the availability of a reward, and many report crime believing it is their civic responsibility. The reward still offers motivation for many people calling in with useful information.