Bridging Gaps and Building Awareness Through Community Policing

Advocating for a heightened police presence in afflicted neighbourhoods.  Educating the public about trends in crimes that could affect them.  Promoting awareness of the Community Police Liaison Committee.  Sex trafficking in Etobicoke.  Sylvia Kwan tolds us about all this and much more.
 
Sylvia Kwan is a retired educator who has been working with the CPLC for more than 15 years. Her association with the organization was triggered by a daytime break-in at her neighbour's home, which occurred while Sylvia and her son were enjoying some sun in their backyard. The realization that their neighbourhood was being targeted by a gang created a whole new perspective on community safety for Sylvia.
 
One of the major types of crimes the CLPC has been working on is sex trafficking of high schooled aged girls in Etobicoke.  The girls are lured online into romantic relationships with boys and young men only slightly older than themselves.  These "relationships" eventually translate into the girls working in the sex trade to earn money to set them up as a couple.  The males offer trips abroad and confiscate the girls' ID to force the girls to turn tricks.  The CPLC recently facilitated a symposium with Burnamthorpe Collegiate to advise girls on how to protect themselves from these kinds of predators.
 
In another example, Sylvia told us how the CPLC became aware through social media of a person who was stalking a young girl and related it to similar events occuring in another neighbourhood.  Information gleaned from these sources played a key role in the police investigation.
 
The CPLC is always open to welcoming interested parties and new volunteers.  You can learn more about what they do at their website.