An initiative launched by London police to identify and reach out to at-risk women in the local sex trade has concluded, resulting in the arrest of nine men.
The six-month project dubbed Project Fulcrum, which commenced in March of this year, was wrapped up by members of the London Police Service Human Trafficking Unit last month. Over the course of the investigation, officers spoke with 21 women and provided them with resources and support to keep them safe from the possibility of being trafficked.
"Project Fulcrum was focused on doing proactive work to combat human trafficking occurring in our community,” read a statement from Det. Sgt. Katherine Dann, head of the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Section. “These face-to-face interactions with potential victims/survivors are essential to building relationships and more importantly, explaining how we can provide assistance to them when they are ready.”
At the end of June, police shared that five men were charged for allegedly trying to purchase sexual services. Since its conclusion, police say another four individuals were arrested and charged with varying human trafficking-related crimes including trafficking persons under 18, trafficking of someone by exercising control and financial/material benefit/trafficking someone under 18.
“We want other victims/survivors to know members of the Human Trafficking Unit are out there, in the locations we believe human trafficking is occurring, to connect with and support them,” Dann added.
Additional details about the project, including the names of the accused will not be released to protect the identities of the survivors. Funding for Project Fulcrum was provided by the Ontario government and the Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario (CISO).
Additional information about human trafficking, such as possible warning signs can be found on the London Police Service website. Additional resources are available through the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline, a confidential, multilingual service that operates 24/7 at 1-833-900-1010.
