Sudbury police devote more time, resources to ‘survivor-centred’ human trafficking strategy

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Sudbury Police are closing gaps in human trafficking investigations, members of the local police board heard on Wednesday, thanks in part to the addition of a new investigator in 2022 and the service’s participation in a province-wide strategy involving 21 different forces, including the OPP.

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In a presentation to the Greater Sudbury Police Services Board, Det-Sgt. Rick Clark told members that human trafficking is unfortunately still on the rise, with Sudbury acting as a hub for the activity as the largest city in Northern Ontario.

“Human trafficking is one of the world’s fastest-growing criminal enterprises that is underreported to police across the globe,” Clark said. “The City of Greater Sudbury and surrounding area is no exception to that.”

He detailed the police service’s commitment to the “four pillars” of prevention, protection, prosecution and partnerships in its effort to combat human trafficking, adding that investigations are often very complex.

In roughly nine out of 10 police-reported cases of human trafficking, the victims are trafficked by someone they know, most often a current or former intimate partner. 

Ninety-six per cent of victims are women and girls.

Human trafficking involves controlling, forcing, intimidating or deceiving a person of any age in order to exploit them, Clark said, most often for forced labour or sexual exploitation.

Traffickers may coerce their victims through emotional manipulation, money, drugs or physical abuse.

“Human trafficking is complex, often a hidden crime that violates a person’s human rights, which results in serious long-term trauma for survivors,” Clark said. “Human trafficking is a multi-jurisdictional crime, where traffickers move victims from city to city throughout Ontario and even throughout Canada.

“Victims of human trafficking bear a life of despair, violence and fear, from which it is very difficult to escape.”

There were 3,541 reported incidents of human trafficking in Canada from 2011 and 2021, according to statistics presented on Wednesday, including 2,459 that resulted in charges under the Criminal Code of Canada and 1,082 that involved the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. In 2021 alone, there were 552 reported incidents, including 352 Criminal Code and 200 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Ontario has higher rate

Clark said Ontario has a higher rate of human trafficking than the national average, with a rate of 2.3 incidents per 100,000 population in 2021, compared to 1.4 across Canada. The number of reported incidents over 10 years was 2,269 in the province, including 1,442 falling under the CCC and 827 under the IRPA. Of that total, 341 were reported in 2021, with 182 covered by the Criminal Code and 159 by the IRPA.

In Greater Sudbury, there were 61 investigations in 2020, leading to 12 charges and with 35 potential or identified victims, Clark said. The number of investigations was down in 2021 to 41, but 17 charges were laid and 35 potential or identified victims were involved once again.

Sudbury police devoted more resources to human trafficking last year, with 93 investigations taking place in 2022. Police laid 29 charges and found 71 potential or identified victims.

“The increase in 2022 can be attributed to adding an additional investigator to our unit,” Clark explained.

Greater Sudbury’s police service is one 21 involved in the Provincial Human Trafficking Intelligence-led Joint Forces Strategy, or IJFS, along with the OPP, Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Toronto, Six Nations and several other cities and First Nations communities across Ontario. GSPS signed on to the IJFS in 2022.

Other partners include Sudbury and Area Victim Services and the Greater Sudbury Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition. Project Empower, a grant-funded initiative to raise community awareness and help survivors access supports, and Timea’s Cause, an organization founded by a human trafficking survivor to aid victims, also play key roles. Project TIIPS, which stands for Trauma Informed Indigenous Prevention and Support, provides survivor support through an Indigenous lens, in partnership with local organizations.

It isn’t only members of those groups or law enforcement officers who can combat human trafficking and aid survivors, Clark said, but all in the community have a role to play — beginning by recognizing the signs of human trafficking and identifying potential victims.

Women and girls are at highest risk of being targeted by traffickers, he said, with Indigenous women and girls being especially vulnerable, though boys, men and members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community may be targeted, as well. 

Marginalized individuals targets

Marginalized individuals and those within the foster care system may also be at risk, along with anyone who struggles with low self-esteem, low self-worth or has a history of being bullied, discriminated against or abused. 

In addition, those who struggle with addiction or mental health issues may be at risk, as traffickers are often skilled at detecting those vulnerabilities and manipulating them to their advantage.

“Traffickers use drugs to recruit, control and exploit their victims,” Clark said. “They will manipulate a person by fulfilling unmet needs — whether that be love, affection or providing food or housing, or by using threats, violence, isolation or emotional abuse.”

Victims may appear disoriented, dishevelled and withdrawn, he said, and may appear intimidated. They may rarely smile. They may be with a person who is significantly older and the victim may present themselves as older than they really are.

“The person or people they are with may seem to be preventing them from moving about freely,” Clark said. “There may be signs of physical abuse and there may be tattoos or marked ownership on the victim, some branding or gang names, gang symbols, or their boyfriend’s name.”

Victims don’t have their own credit cards or ID and are not controlling their own money.

Despite these signs, the detective sergeant said, people around the individuals who are being trafficked may not immediately know or understand that a crime is actually occurring.

When human trafficking is suspected, police will refer the case to a human trafficking investigator and Sudbury and Area Victim Services will remain engaged throughout the process to offer supports. Clark said investigators understand how difficult it is for victims to provide a statement and while they will encourage them to do so, they will respect the individual’s choice.

“Human trafficking investigators are committed to helping victims, regardless of whether a formal statement does or does not want to be given. Based on all the information gathered, police will continue to investigate and process charges where they believe there are reasonable and probable grounds that an offence has been committed.”

Public education is vital, he said, and involves media campaigns, digital billboards, social media messaging, as well as awareness presentations at universities, colleges and schools across the city and surrounding area.

“Greater Sudbury Police are dedicated to a survivor-centred approach, incorporating crime prevention, education and increased awareness of reporting processes for human trafficking, and as part of the national strategy to combat human trafficking, Greater Sudbury Police incorporate the four key pillars of prevention, protection, prosecution and partnerships, while working with and supporting the victims of human trafficking.

“Disclosing to police is not the final step to freedom for each survivor, but is the beginning of a lifelong healing process.”

For more information or to file a human trafficking report, visit www.gsps.ca/en/reporting/human-trafficking.aspx.

bleeson@postmedia.com

Twitter: @ben_leeson