Timmins police and Timmins and District Victims Services have launched a public awareness and education campaign on human trafficking. Police say most people don’t even know human trafficking exists locally but it does. In fact Victims Services has helped more than a dozen human trafficking victims in the city and surrounding area. Staff Sargent Darren Dinel says part of the campaign involves educating the service sector because that’s where some human trafficking occurs.
Marc Depatie of Crime Stoppers says part of the campaign includes identifying potential victims so they can be helped. Depatie says if people see someone they believe is being controlled by a human trafficker, they’re asked to call the police or Crime Stoppers. Human trafficking is a $32-billion world-wide industry. Figures show that the average age of human trafficking victims is 14 years and 92 percent are Canadian born.