Jordanian police in Ottawa for specialized training on tackling human trafficking

A delegation of police officers from Jordan's anti-human trafficking unit are in Ottawa this week, learning best practices to combat human trafficking from experts across Canada. 

The training program features presentations from Ottawa police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ontario Provincial Police and representatives from several victim support groups. 

It's part of a larger project to enhance anti-human trafficking efforts in Jordan that's being implemented by consulting firm Alinea International. It comes amid concerns that Jordan's large refugee population may be vulnerable to exploitation.

Wayne Hissong, a law enforcement expert, first started working on this project two years ago when he delivered basic and advanced training courses to over 85 officers in Jordan. 

"Once they met Wayne and started to learn about the Canadian system, the Jordanian officers wanted to come here and learn about how Canadian police tackle human trafficking," said Andrea Wojtak, a trafficking expert also working on the project.

The Jordanian police officers recognized the need for a focus on a trauma-informed and victim-centred approach to combating human trafficking, Hissong said.

"They are very experienced in their own rights as far as carrying out investigations and identification of victims of trafficking," Hissong said, adding the focus on victims is what makes a huge difference in training.

"It means that we're meeting the needs request in a non-judgmental way," he said.

Wojtak added that despite regional and cultural differences between Canada and Jordan, many aspects of tackling human trafficking are universal.

In Canada, Wojtak said investigations are victim-led, and police take the time to develop a relationship with the victims so they feel secure and comfortable if they choose to co-operate.

"So it doesn't matter if you're in Jordan, it doesn't matter if you're in Mongolia ... Treating the victim with sensitivity and putting the victim's needs first should be done globally," she said. 

Concern for refugees falling victim

Major Muhammad Al-Khalifat, head of the anti-human trafficking unit, is one of the four Jordanian police officers in Ottawa for the training. 

Human trafficking is an issue being felt across the globe, and in Jordan, is typically operated by individuals rather than organized groups, Al-Khalifat said in Arabic.

"We hope to take this experience to our country and use it to deal with the victims and the problem we have there," he said through an interpreter.

Jordan houses more than two million Palestinian refugees and around 665,000 Syrian refugees, according to the UNRWA and UNHCR, many who may be vulnerable to human trafficking. 

"We care a lot about the refugees in our country and we appointed many officers to keep an eye on the refugees in their camps so they won't be exploited and subjected to human trafficking," Al-Khalifat said. 

Al-Khalifat said he's looking forward to learning more about Canadian methods and practices, including the use of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) to help gather information about victims and predators. That could look like combing through social media to gather clues from photographs or comments. 

"I hope to learn more about how using new technology, [we] are able to identify the scene of crime and how to deal with it," he said. 

The delegation of police officers will be heading back to Jordan later this week, and the plan is for Hissong to return to Jordan at a later date to help implement the new skills the officers have learned.