Last night I put together a “Grocery Store Stand” for my four-year old granddaughter. I had difficulty, not because I hadn’t been engaged in a similar activity for about 25 years, reading with weary eyes “Easy to Follow” directions written for MIT grads. No, I had a hard time because I would have tears in my eyes thinking of the parents in Newtown, Connecticut who would not be prying open boxes, assembling bikes and bridges and stores and castles, assembling what would be the joyous shouts of discovery, of Christmas.
As most Americans, I wept for them and for this nation, this wonderful nation, this giving nation with nimble democracy, a nation that can change when it wishes, a nation that banned slavery, gave women the right to vote, passed civil rights and anti-gay discrimination laws, and, overcoming deep prejudices, elected its first Roman Catholic President and then its first African American President. A friend and colleague from Montreal, with whom I worked when I served as a board member of the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime called me when Obama was first elected four years ago. He said, “I get mad at your country so often, your violence, your disparity of wealth.” “And then you do something like this. You are so flexible. You do terrible things, then you change. And when you do, you give us all hope.” His words were choked. He thanked me. He thanked America “as a beacon for what nations can be.”
Will we have this courage? Will we then, overcoming deep prejudices, passionately held views, agree to aim the diagnosis beyond the individual , to us, our social values? We protect what we value: if a car is defective, it is recalled, the driver not blamed for a broken axle; the FDA tests and retests drugs, and if one is proven harmful, as Thalidomide, it is banned; if tainted spinach poisons a handful of individuals as it did recently, the government stops growers from growing, not eaters from their menu selections. Recall that spinach was removed from grocery store shelves across the nation. Toys are recalled because the paint, if licked, can cause stomach aches, and large warnings emblazon plastic bags that can suffocate children.
But not so a weapon, a weapon once banned, a weapon of war, a weapon raised high in Syria, and Libya, a weapon designed for U.S. troops in Vietnam, a weapon that kills a roomful of children in minutes, a legal weapon, a weapon, a toxin in our civic stream that remains while spinach is pulled.
The ironies are almost too painful to recount. A sudden “international newsbreak” on one of the TV channels I was watching interrupted the agonizing, incomprehensible Newtown story to report on a disaster in Syria in which 20 civilians, mainly women and children, were killed. Syria, a nation at war. 20 dead. America, a nation not at war, 28 (this does not include others who were killed that day by guns across the U.S).
On December 15 the New York Times reported on a deranged Chinese man who stormed into a classroom of kids brandishing a knife, intent on killing. 22 received knife wounds, and 22 survived.
My life’s calling has been to serve and help improve the lives of children and families and the neighborhoods in which they live. I have served on the state and federal levels and as President and CEO of the National Crime Prevention Council. More recently I have been working with 24 cities across America helping these cities craft and then implement gang and violence prevention plans blending prevention, intervention, enforcement and reentry (returning offenders). Those I’ve had the pleasure to meet and work with are the most committed, professional and courageous individuals I’ve ever met – among them law enforcement, educators, mayors, faith and community leaders, recreation officials, the philanthropic sector, public health and hospitals to name only a few . Yet their delicate and complicated work, work that tries to change a social norm to one that does not tolerate violence, one that supports, nurtures and protects, can be shattered by a shooting. “We are outgunned,” one law enforcement officer told me. Yet in the face of this fire, they continue.
And so do those living in war zones. I was asked to run a “listening session” of parents living in a high crime area of Philadelphia. One woman told me that her goals in life is to get her kids “to and from school without being shot.” She escorts her kids to school and back, sometimes walking on pavements “with dried blood on them,” and always by “little memorials, a cross, flowers for kids who have been shot and killed.” Just across the river in Camden, New Jersey on the City Hall’s front lawn, 55 crosses bear stark and public witness to the killings in that city . Not Syria: Philadelphia, Camden and sections of all large cities across the nation.
We hear “loner” this, loner that. Perhaps it is a trait among the shooters in Columbine, Aurora, Virginia Tech and Newtown, but most loners don’t kill. Do we screen for lonerism? Are we more violent than other nations? We are not a different species, but guns make the difference: anger and depression, however mild, have probably touched most everyone who has lived. In the face of a divorce, loss of job, death of a spouse, death of a child, loss of a girl friend, a few “normal” people can break. Spouses shoot spouses, rejected lovers shoot those who spurned them and disgruntled employees shoot employers. It matters enormously whether what is at hand for those who break is a knife or an assault weapon. E.J. Dionne points out in his Washington Post Editorial on December 17, that we should improve our “treatment of those who may be prone to violence,” but that this is “too often part of a strategy to evade any action on guns themselves.”
We must, at a minimum, ban the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines (and consider rewards on existing weapons and magazines that are turned in), perform rigorous background checks on all who would purchase a weapon, disqualifying those have committed a felony and those with history of mental health problems, and close gun show loopholes. We must also support jurisdiction-wide planning and implementation of comprehensive violence prevention plans that interweave prevention, intervention, enforcement, rehabilitation and reentry thus making every effort to change a culture of violence.
Bob Dylan’s haunting “Blowin’ In the Wind” asks “How many times must the cannon balls fly before they’re forever banned?” He continues: “How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry? How many deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died?” Perhaps this time we will have seen enough, heard enough, been, finally, ashamed enough to acknowledge that the front line soldiers in this debate were little children who were slaughtered by a hail of bullets.
Business Week, hardly a liberal journal in its August 16, 1999 issue said, “It is vital to crack down on the handful of gun dealers who time and again provide weapons to criminals… There is no rational reason of any individual to possess an assault weapon. There is no reason for most people, especially those with children, to own handguns. There is no reason why extremists should determine government gun policies that threaten the lives of innocent people. It is time for serious gun control.”
The Greeks have two words for time, chronos time, as in 9:15 p.m., the time I’m writing this blog; and chiros time as in “wasn’t that a time,” an epochal “time” in history. Let’s commit at this time in our history to stop the cannon balls from flying, each of us pledging that this is the time to change: Time that this nation again rose to greatness by having the courage to change.
Jack Calhoun, December 20,2012
Director, California Cities Gang Prevention Network
Former CEO and Director, National Crime Prevention Council
Former U.S. Commissioner of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families
Jack Calhoun was a keynote speaker at the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council Annual Justice Dinner in April 2010.Reprinted with permission from Jack Calhoun and Hope Matters.
Posted on: December 17th, 2012 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
I’ve been asked this question. Not these “exact’ words, but it certainly felt that way when I was asked to ‘provide a rationale’ as to why we use yoga as part of our programs at inREACH, a street gang prevention program in Waterloo Region. Here’s the rationale I gave… which also seems to be backed up by a lot of good solid evidence.
All of the youth we work with at inREACH have deficits in the area of emotion regulation. In its most problematic form this may result in anger and aggression which can cause them to come into conflict with the law; less obviously, but just as seriously, many of the same youth suffer from chronic anxiety and depression. Additionally, many of the youth turn to heavy substance use as the only tool at their disposal to manage powerful feelings. In order for youth to reduce their drug use and manage their emotions well enough to enable them to make good choices when problem solving, they must learn self-calming techniques.
Yoga teaches relaxation and breathing techniques which youth are able to use in a variety of settings as strategies to regulate their stress-response system. By decreasing their level of physiological arousal (heart rate, blood pressure) youth are able to increase their capacity to stay calm in stressful situations and thus make better choices about their behaviour. Evidence suggests that yoga can reduce maladaptive nervous system arousal, thus making it easier for youth to strengthen healthy coping strategies and reduce their dependence on substances to maintain emotional equilibrium. As a result of its efficacy, yoga is increasingly being offered in accredited children’s mental health treatment centres such as Lutherwood in Waterloo, in custody facilities such as Roy McMurtry Youth Centre in Bramptom, and in community-based gang prevention programs, such as Breaking the Cycle in Rexdale.
One of the best parts of working on the inREACH project has been the opportunity to collaborate with local service providers, businesses and community residents to expose the young people we work with to experiences that they would not otherwise have access to. The results have sometimes been surprising. For example, last winter we began working with Meaghan Johnson at Queen Street Yoga to teach yoga and mindfulness to one of our groups for young people at-risk for gang activity.
The youth we work with have responded very well to the experience. We found that by beginning our groups with yoga and mindfulness exercises they were more grounded and focused for the psycho-educational material that followed. Many learned that they could use breathing as a strategy in stressful situations, while others continued to practice yoga on their own time. Beyond the tools they may have taken from it, however, all were able to experience what, to me, is the most powerful aspect of yoga – accepting and honouring who you are, in your body, at this particular moment in time, without judgment.
Now, I could have provided a purely economic rationale for teaching yoga to “thugs”. Something along the lines of… Yoga – 1 teacher @ $100/hour x 6 sessions/5 youth = $600.00 ($120 per youth ) Incarceration – 5 youth @ $350/day x 5/days = $8,750 ($1,750per youth)
… and let the math speak for itself.
However, wouldn’t you rather see a young person who can understand the connection between emotional triggers and behaviour, self-regulate emotions with consciousness, make healthy decisions and learn body awareness techniques that can be used for a lifetime?
I know I would. I believe our community would be a safer place if more of our young people had the opportunity for this kind of experience.
This is an excellent talk from New Leaf Yoga teacher Laura Sygrove about the power of yoga to connect the mind & body in very practical ways and start a healing journey in a healthy constructive way.
Author: Shanna Braden is a social worker at Lutherwood who works for inREACH, a collaborative project of local community partners to prevent gang activity in the Region of Waterloo.
Posted on: November 29th, 2012 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
Has the Internet and its anonymity ruined civility? Let me be more precise. Has our ability to instantaneously respond to issues that we see reported in the media given rise to intemperate thoughts, comments or attitudes? What makes me ask the question is reading the reader comments to articles in any given newspaper, on any given day, on almost any topic.
One would have thought the comments are moderated but maybe this would be seen as a violation of free speech. Doesn’t free speech have some limits in the newspaper? I just don’t get why readers who respond to articles in the online version of newspapers have to demonize people with whom they disagree. I’ve contacted our own local newspaper numerous times on this issue but nothing has changed.
Whether the issue of education or health care funding, bullying, the air show or almost any other endeavour covered by the local paper, there is almost a guarantee that someone will either see a conspiracy, a government rip-off or some other nefarious plot to impose something on themselves or others. Is it the anonymity allowed that allows them to berate politicians, newsmakers, civil servants, immigrants and others they have a problem with without identifying themselves? Whatever happened to civil discourse where one can disagree without being disagreeable? If you think I am exaggerating, take a look at the comments on almost any issue covered in the local paper. Now, maybe it’s not a big issue because the people who write their missives tend to do so in response to those written by others. One tends to see the same usernames over and over again and they often battle with each other. I think it’s great that they like to be involved with the news of the day. More power to them. What bothers me is the vitriol that is spread and the assumptions that are made. You may know about the theory of attribution where we tend to ascribe the worst possible motives to others who may have offended us while diminishing any role we may have played. In this theory we don’t give others the benefit of the doubt that we may allow ourselves. If people want to comment in this fashion and fight with each other, maybe the newspapers can create a separate page where commenters can talk to themselves and not attach comments to the bottom of the online article.
I am not alone in noticing this issue. Rosie DiManno, a long-time columnist with The Toronto Star recently wrote a column decrying the anonymity allowed commenters noting that much of what is written can be considered libelous. She made the point that her editors would refuse her columns if they contained the same kinds of unproved allegations allowed in online responses. People seem to feel that the internet has given them something akin to Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak allowing them to scurry around the halls of the online commenting world unseen and free from responsibility.
T – Is it True H – Is it Hurtful I – Is it Illegal N – Is it Necessary K – Is it Kind
These filters are being used by students who have put a blue elastic band around their phones to remind them the texting can be used to bully or defame another. Many young people are unaware that some things they text or attachments they send are covered under the Criminal Code and they could be held liable for their actions. This proactive approach will not, by itself, solve the problem of online bullying but at least it’s a step in the right direction. Maybe this simple acronym could be used by those who comment online and whose comments seem to pass unfiltered through our local newspaper’s edit process.
But it’s not just the Internet where we see a lack of civility; I was recently at a local mall handing out “Say Hi” buttons to passersby during Crime Prevention Week and to chat with them about the work of the Crime Prevention Council. It was a study in social psychology to see the effort some people went to not to make eye contact with me. Their ability to duck out of my way would make them valuable assets to any major hockey team. One would think I was asking them if they would like typhus or Ebola instead of a Say Hi button. It was actually quite comical. Many responded to my offer of a button with a curt “I don’t live in Waterloo”. I guess saying hi is prohibited by a city bylaw in their respective region.
Is there a correlation between a less civil society and increased crime? Some think so, though the definition of ‘civility’ may relate more to neighbourhood development that what might archaically be called ‘good manners’. Certainly healthy neighbourhoods that are well taken care of and where neighbours actually know each other mitigate against rampant street crime. So, I may be putting myself out there by suggesting that if we were simply nicer to each other, in how we speak, how we write, how we drive, how we shut off our iPhones and BlackBerries in theatres and while waiting in lines at the market (you get the picture) might we end up with a safer place to live? Isn’t that what we want?
We all have a part in this; we could all use a little more ‘THINK-ing’. And maybe, the newspapers could rethink their position on moderating comments or at least, raise the standards by which it judges comments as appropriate.
Author: Frank Johnson is a regular guest writer for Smart on Crime in Waterloo Region. Frank is a retired principal with the local Catholic school board, a dad, and sometimes runner who possesses an irreverent sense of humour that periodically gets him in trouble. He lives in Waterloo, Ontario.
Frank Johnson’s writing reflects his own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views or official positions of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council.
Posted on: November 1st, 2012 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
Being tough on crime often means talking about keeping criminals off the street, protecting the rights of victims and deterring offenders from either offending in the first place, or re-offending upon release. All of these things, however laudable, sound great on talk radio. In my very unscientific poll listening to a recent local talk radio program where the host interviewed the Honourable Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of Canada about toughening the Safe Streets and Communities Act (Bill C-10) about 90% of the callers supported this tough stance that would result in more offenders going to prison. Now, these are serious offenders, not joy-riders or B+E specialists. These are the people found guilty of violent offences. Tough to argue against that. But, have these callers thought about where we are sending these offenders and at what cost, or do they give much thought at all to prison, beyond it being the destination for bad guys (and girls in increasing numbers)?
“Canadians should be interested in who is ending up behind bars. Questions about whom we incarcerate and for how long and why are important public policy issues…Visible minorities, Aboriginal people and women are entering federal penitentiaries in greater numbers than ever before. Twenty-one percent of the inmate population is of Aboriginal descent and 9% of inmates are Black Canadians. In the last five years, the number of federally incarcerated women has increased by about 40% while the number of Aboriginal women has increased by over 80% in the last decade. In fact, if not for these sub-groups, the offender population growth rate would have flat-lined some years ago.”
Think about that for a moment. Does this not seem out of whack to you? How often have we heard our politicians or talk show hosts calling attention to these stats? Not very, at least in my memory. How long can we keep sweeping this issue under the proverbial rug before we need an SUV to climb over it? Why is this not on the national radar?
Mr. Sapers goes even further to paint a picture of today’s inmate:
“More offenders are admitted to federal penitentiaries more addicted and more mentally ill that ever before. 36% have been identified at admissions as requiring some form of psychiatric care of psychological follow-up. 63% of offenders report using either alcohol or drugs on the day of their current offence…These needs often run ahead of the system’s capacity to meet them.”
Given this, would it not make sense for the government to invest some of the money it is using after the fact to house these people to invest at the front end in some form of proactive therapy that can address alcohol and substance abuse issues as these are often linked to mental health problems? We know that it currently costs the government (in reality you and me, the taxpayer) about $98,000 to incarcerate one male (female prisoners are much more expensive to house, in fact about twice the cost) for one year in a medium security federal prison. By the way, these figures come from Public Safety Canada. I am not making them up. If that money were invested in mental health and addictions counselling (and it wouldn’t even cost near that amount) for a person when symptoms first arise, it would save exponential amounts of money after the fact in costs of incarceration. This isn’t bleeding heart liberalism. It’s simple mathematics. You should know that there is a range of costs for persons incarcerated that is dependent on whether or not they are in a federal or provincial institute, whether they are male or female and the level of security and so on. I think there are more options out there that are less expensive and arguably more effective.
Look for example at InREACH, the anti-gang project running in Waterloo Region. In 2009, the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council received nearly $3.8 million from the National Crime Prevention Centre (Canada) for a 45 month time period to create and implement a collaborative street gang prevention project that involved a collaboration among various community agency partners. You can read about the initiative yourself so I won’t take you through all it offers in terms of its programs like addictions counselling, mental health supports, job skills training, community mobilization and so on. Visit the site though. You will be impressed.
In a recent monitoring report of the project prepared by Karen Hayward, she notes that 210 youth have been referred to the program since 2010. If, and it’s a very big if, all of these youth would have gone on to commit crimes which would land them in a medium security federal penitentiary the cost to the taxpayer would be $20,580,000. Okay, that’s a stretch. It depends on lots of factors so I am asking you to give me some leeway here. So, let’s say only a quarter of these youth could be diverted successfully. The cost is still $5,145,000. Oh, by the way, this is per year. So, if for example we say that the program diverted 25% of these youth from a federal penitentiary over three years, at a program investment of roughly $3 million and without it, the government (again, you and me) would be on the hook for $15,435,000 – does it not look cost effective? And, interestingly enough, inREACH is scrambling for funding since the money is running out. It begs the question as to why, when simple economics tells us it makes more sense to invest upfront dollars that will save the taxpayer huge amounts later on. I know there are a lot of suppositions in my example that may fail to take various factors into consideration, but the message is still clear: pay now or pay a lot more later.
Mr. Sapers helps make my argument. “Expenditures on federal corrections totalled almost $2.5 billion in 2010-11, which represents a 43.9% increase since 2005-06.” Have we seen the same percentage increase going to mental health and addictions support? Well, it appears not. According to the Canadian Psychiatric Association, the federal government has cut mental health services at Correctional Services Canada including three doctors, 28 nurses, six psychologists, three social workers and two occupational therapists. These numbers don’t include the 18 nurses and five psychologists affected by the closure of Kingston Penitentiary who will lose their jobs.
When one considers, as Mr. Sapers’ report notes, that 4 of 5 offenders have substance abuse problems, 50% of federally incarcerated women report a history of self-harm, over half identify a current or previous addiction to drugs, 85% report a history of physical abuse and 68% experienced sexual abuse at some point in their lives, any cuts to mental health supports seem short-sighted. And I am not even touching on the story of Ashley Smith, as an example of what can happen to a person with mental health needs in our prison system.
As much as I think many callers to talk shows debating the tough on crime agenda reasonably want to protect victims, it might be time for them to think about what happens after the cell door slams. After all, at some point these people are coming out and will be standing in line with us at Tim Hortons or riding the bus with us. From a strictly selfish point of view, do we want them to come out healthier, more able to handle stress and addictive tendencies, more compassionate and remorseful, or just angrier and more damaged?
Is it time to stop pretending prison is our best option? What are we pretending not to know?
Author: Frank Johnson is a regular guest writer for Smart on Crime in Waterloo Region. Frank is a retired principal with the local Catholic school board, a dad, and sometimes runner who possesses an irreverent sense of humour that periodically gets him in trouble. He lives in Waterloo, Ontario.
Frank Johnson’s writing reflects his own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views or official positions of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council.
Posted on: October 26th, 2012 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
How to understand the complex nature and impact of psychological trauma in our community? Important steps are being taken in this direction by KidsLink, a Waterloo Region based organization supporting the emotional and mental health of children and youth in our community.
We recently hosted Laurie Robinson in a webinar to explore the prevalence and science of trauma and how our community can move toward a trauma-informed system of care. Participants in the webinar came from many different sectors representing children & youth mental health, addictions, health care and more.
But why would the Crime Prevention Council be interested in issues of trauma? Trauma (adverse childhood experiences, or adult in some cases) is often the root of many psychological, physical, behavioural and health conditions – and WRCPC is all about getting to the root causes or conditions. For example, did you know….
75% – 93% of youth entering the criminal justice system have experienced some form of trauma
Among boys who experienced a traumatic incident under the age of 12, 50% – 79% became involved in serious juvenile delinquency
Incarcerated women are more likely to report a history of childhood physical or sexual abuse (Justice Policy Institute, 2010).
Prevention tell us: “it’s easier to build strong children than to mend broken adults.”
I share Laurie Robinson’s presentation here to give you a starting point for finding out what trauma is and the impact it has on our community.
How do you see trauma affecting people you work with, serve, represent? What do you see as the impact within our community? How might a trauma informed system of care improve the lives of the people that you works with. How might it improve the health of us all? How could this approach have an effect on prevention, early intervention, effective treatment and intervention, the corrections & court system, rehabilitation…..? Let you mind consider the possibilities!
Post your questions or comments here and Laurie will do her best to answer them all.
Posted on: October 16th, 2012 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
By now you’ve likely heard, read or seen the tragic story of Amanda Todd who committed suicide a few weeks after posting a video of her using flash cards to describe the torment she faced as a result of being initially cyber-bullied which then overflowed to actual violence. She made the mistake, as many young people do, of sending a picture of herself (sexting) which was then used to basically blackmail her into other unwanted activities. She trusted the wrong people who used her innocence against her. She tells her story much more eloquently than I could ever hope but be warned, it is heart-wrenching in its desperation and honesty.
Parents, schools, police and community agencies alike are deeply concerned about the issue of cyber-bullying and the often related re-posting of photos on Facebook, Twitter or other social networking sites. In many cases, this amounts to a criminal offence related to the dissemination of pornography. Many young people have no idea that forwarding such images can result in a criminal charge that may affect their lives for a very long time. Equally as important is the effect this posting has on the lives of the victimized who, like Amanda, are forced to move school and communities in the hope they can escape the cruelty and scrutiny of their peers. Even more disturbing is the news that blogs set up to honour Amanda are being used by some pretty disturbed people to further attack her in death. Though the RCMP are investigating these acts, tracing the source of anonymous online bullying is not an easy task.
The Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council has started to look at how it can be of service to parents, schools, police and youth to help them think before posting anything that could be potentially harmful to themselves or others. The WRCPC has formed a working group of police, educators, researchers, community members and Council members to create an action plan and hopes to have this in place for the next school year. Ironically, the group was meeting just as the story of Amanda’s death was breaking in the media.
We don’t have to wait for the plan to be completed before taking action on our own to reduce, if not end cyber-bullying. All we need to do is think before we hit the ‘send’ button on our computer or smartphone. As parents we need to talk with our kids about what the fact that what is posted lives on the internet forever. Companies regularly go on Facebook to check the pages of prospective employees to see the types of things they post and make hiring decisions based upon what they see. Having a criminal record, particularly for possession or dissemination of child pornography will limit access to future career opportunities and can create issues in seeking entrance to other countries when travelling.
Amanda’s story is a cautionary tale not only to the perpetrators of the bullying, but to those who act as bystanders and enable it to continue. For bullying to thrive it needs a willing audience. Each time we fail to stop the cycle we become one of those thousand cuts that eventually kill.
How many more Amanda Todd’s are out there?
Author: Frank Johnson is a regular guest writer for Smart on Crime in Waterloo Region. Frank is a retired principal with the local Catholic school board, a dad, and sometimes runner who possesses an irreverent sense of humour that periodically gets him in trouble. He lives in Waterloo, Ontario.
Frank Johnson’s writing reflects his own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views or official positions of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council.
Posted on: September 17th, 2012 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
I wish this were a fairy tale but sadly, it’s all too true. Every so often my white bread world is, to quote a British friend, “gobsmacked” (shaken, astonished, shocked) and this was the case recently when I attended a workshop on the issue of human trafficking in Canada. The event was sponsored by the Downtown East Project and hosted by the Steps to Change Diversion Program. Mill Courtland Community Association in conjunction with the Waterloo Region Police Services, the Bylaw Enforcement Division of the City of Kitchener, along with other community associations, are partners in an attempt to alert the public and various levels of government to the prevalence and severity of human trafficking. It’s an issue that largely flies under the radar of most citizens though I hope this will change in the near future as its cost in human terms is incalculable. Human trafficking is different from human smuggling. According to the RCMP, human trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation or harbouring of persons for the purpose of exploitation (typically as sex trade workers for forced construction labour) whereas human smuggling is a form of illegal migration involving the organized transport of a person across an international border for money.
Timea Nagy is a survivor of human trafficking and speaks to audiences in Canada and internationally about her experience. It is harrowing to listen to. Timea first became a victim of trafficking when she lived in Hungary. She was looking for a way to make money to help pay debts and was approached by a woman who offered her an opportunity to come to Canada where she could work as a baby sitter. The woman seemed sincere and offered Timea a contract written entirely in English. Timea neither spoke nor read English but trusted the woman. Upon arrival in Canada she was kept at Customs and questioned by officers who were seeing many Eastern European women entering the country under false pretenses. The officers, through an interpreter, explained the contract to her. She was expected to work as an exotic dancer and Timea, disoriented, exhausted and confused was just beginning a saga that would forever change her life.
She was sent back to Hungary but not before meeting up with members of the crime ring sent to meet her. They informed her of her debt incurred through the plane ticket and how she was to pay it back. That night she was taken to a strip club and raped. This was the start of the intentional dehumanization process used to control her mind and her body. Threats to her family in Hungary were made and though she was returned to Hungary, the threats continued in her home country. Feeling trapped, she returned to Canada to work to pay off her debt to the criminal organization. This world was completely foreign to her, literally and metaphorically. Timea, in her own words, was a good girl, whose mother was a police officer and Timea lived a fairly sheltered life. She was completely unprepared for the life she was to face. As she tells it, it was almost impossible to pay the debt because she was charged for ‘expenses’ such as $360.00 for an oil change or $560.00 to replace the headlight for the car used to take her to the club. If she or any of the other girls was late being picked up for their work shift (11 am to 2 am the following day) they were charged $100. 00 per minute. Girls like Timea were afraid to go to the police as some had bad experiences in their country of origin. They were broken down psychologically, almost as one in a prison camp, their dignity was stripped away and they did whatever they were told for fear of retribution but also, because many had lost the will to fight back. They were strangers in a strange land and this sense of fear was used as a form of manipulation and control.
Police forces at all levels have joined together to pursue, capture and prosecute those who traffic in human slavery. This is an international battle as criminal gangs, organized for this specific purpose, generate huge profits that cross borders every day. Many countries are moving forward with legislation and police resources but it’s not easy to get convictions if the victims are too traumatized to come forward or are kept virtual prisoners in motel rooms across the country, driven to strip bars or construction sites where few questions are asked.
Locally, the hope is to create a task force including enforcement groups and those providing recovery and support to develop a comprehensive action plan and strategic approach to help victims and also reduce the instances of this criminal activity.
We often think that slavery no longer exists but, having spent a day learning about human trafficking, it’s clear this evil continues to thrive in societies around the world. If you’d like to learn more, visit some of the links listed below and help join the battle against human trafficking.
I think you’ll be gobsmacked as well. It doesn’t feel good does it?
Author: Frank Johnson is a regular guest writer for Smart on Crime in Waterloo Region. Frank is a retired principal with the local Catholic school board, a dad, and sometimes runner who possesses an irreverent sense of humour that periodically gets him in trouble. He lives in Waterloo, Ontario.
Frank Johnson’s writing reflects his own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views or official positions of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council.
When you have the opportunity to learn from someone who has ‘been there’… take it! This week, we had the honour of welcoming and hosting Jamie Courtorielle in Waterloo Region. Jamie is cycling across Canada in order to raise awareness about addictions and the destruction it is causing in our families, communities, and most of all, our youth. Jamie spent 3 days in our communities visiting youth programs like R.O.O.F and inREACH, meeting area politicians and spending time at the Weejeendimin Native Resource Centre. Our regular guest blogger, Frank Johnson, sat down with Jamie one afternoon to pick his brain on a few questions.
Our By the Numbers feature is back with a series of video blogs by Anthony Piscitelli, our very own Supervisor, Planning and Research with the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council. In his first video post, Anthony takes a closer look at the numbers from a recent WRCPC publication about crossover children; “From One System to Another: Crossover Children in Waterloo Region.”
If you have more questions, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this blog post. Or, you are welcome to give Anthony a call directly. We can be reached at 519.883.2304.
Posted on: August 13th, 2012 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
As an educator I used to dread August because of all the back to school ads. Why were we rushing summer? Now that the ads have officially begun I guess it’s time to think about how schools can advance the work of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council and its community partners in informing the public and creating momentum for keeping communities safe and thriving. I’m not proposing yet another “add-on” to an overburdened school system that is sometimes seen as the place to solve society’s ills. Schools can help, but we can’t expect teachers to carry the load regarding things like recycling, social justice, bullying, gangs and other worthwhile causes. Rather, we need to partner with them and build upon opportunities that already exist within the curriculum.
For instance, students at the secondary level often wonder about the relevance of Mathematics, frequently asking teachers “when am I ever going to use this in real life?” Here’s a thought…with the recent publication of the latest crime rate statistics from StatsCan and the media attention given to the decline in crime with some notable exceptions, why is there still a significant proportion of the population worried about crime? How can the rates of crime and their severity be graphed? What can explain the differences in regions? How can we compare them visually? Can we broaden the discussion through an interdisciplinary approach with History, Sociology or Philosophy classes working with Math classes to analyze data and formulate possible interventions that may be less costly than incarceration? What are the costs of incarceration vs early intervention? Can these be graphed? What about the rate of recidivism for certain crimes? Using the interdisciplinary approach, teachers from diverse subject areas work together to create a seamless and timely approach to learning using current events and materials. Guest speakers could also be brought in and debates staged so that students begin to develop a deeper awareness not only of the issues, but the use of language to effectively message a position.
Single discipline courses like History, Philosophy and Sociology offer several opportunities to discuss social and government policy that can be related to issues of crime prevention such as corrections, roots of crime, gangs, sentencing and the political responses to fear of crime. Not only will students better appreciate the complexity of these issues related to the core curriculum they must cover, but they will have the added benefit of becoming better informed voters. Teachers can devote a few minutes at the beginning of the day or each class to discuss current events. Technology exists to bring up online versions of major newspapers or other media outlets so that students who don’t have access to a daily paper or device can view breaking news. A few minutes each week, if not every day, will add variety to the lesson and engage students by helping them see the relevance of their learning. As a History teacher, students used to revel in getting me ‘off topic’ but to a History teacher who sees History as the totality of human experience, he/she can easily tie events together with the current day’s lesson.
Many schools already partner with local agencies in offering programs on emotions management, anti-bullying, roots of empathy, what some might call “soft skills”. Emotional self-regulation and awareness of our actions, along with an understanding of the adolescent brain help students appreciate the gifts and challenges this age brings. Youth crime can often be attributed to a lack of emotional management directly attributed to their still developing brains. How else to explain the phenomenon of ‘sexting” where young people send sexually explicit images of themselves, unaware that once out “there” they can be forwarded to others, making this a criminal offence? Not only that, but photos of this type never really disappear and may come back to haunt the young (or even older person, Anthony Weiner for example). Working with police and other agencies students themselves can take the lead in educating their peers about the dangers and consequences of the dark side of social media. Online bullying is yet another example and schools can play a role in reducing the rate of these occurrences.
Schools offer several occasions for healthy choices in terms of teams, arts, volunteer activities, social justice initiatives and so on. These help fill the void of boredom that can be a precursor to criminal activity.
There are several more avenues for schools and crime prevention networks to work together to create safe and caring communities. But, it’s can’t be up to schools alone. What can you do to help?
Author: Frank Johnson is a regular guest writer for Smart on Crime in Waterloo Region. Frank is a retired principal with the local Catholic school board, a dad, and sometimes runner who possesses an irreverent sense of humour that periodically gets him in trouble. He lives in Waterloo, Ontario.
Frank Johnson’s writing reflects his own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views or official positions of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council.
