As a documentary at Forest City Film Festival (FCFF) brought survivors of human trafficking to the big screen, London’s police chief said combatting the crime is a “big priority for us.” Chief Thai Truong of the London Police Service (LPS) was part of a panel discussion following the screening of Dark Highway at FCFF. Truong said trafficking is a “big problem” because “there is a lot of money to be made.
” He emphasized that the majority of cases in Canada are happening in London and the GTA along the 401 corridor. “We are laying human trafficking charges and our human trafficking unit is doing incredible work,” Truong told CTV News. “They're combating pimps, traffickers that are operating in this space and if you don't devote resources and priority to this crime, it goes undetected.
” London Police Chief Thai Truong speaks about human trafficking on a panel after the airing of the film Dark Highway at the Forest City Film Festival, October 29, 2024 (Brent Lale/CTV News London) That’s why as part of the upcoming multi-year budget, LPS is looking to increase capacity of its human trafficking unit. “It’s providing expertise and specialized training to not just human trafficking investigators specifically but providing a generalist perspective where we're adding special officers with this training. It is increasing the capacity overall as an organization.
That is something that this organization has not done to this level, but that is part of the plan f.