Part 1: PEC Police Board Reviews Trafficking Risks, Crime Trends, and Community Safety Plans - 03/20/2025

The meeting opened with some quick audio testing because one person was hard to hear at first. After that, the meeting was formally called to order at 10:00 a.m. and it was confirmed the meeting would be live streamed, recorded, and posted online. It was also confirmed the meeting was hybrid, meaning some people were in the room and some joined online.

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A land acknowledgement was read, recognizing the County is on traditional Indigenous land and acknowledging First Nations and Métis people who have cared for the land over time.

Elections for chair and vice chair

The first big piece of business was electing leadership for the board. Nominations were called for chair, then for vice chair. The votes were quick because there were no competing nominations. After the elections, the board did the formal steps to officially appoint the chair and vice chair under the board’s rules.

Disclosures and approving the agenda

The board asked for any pecuniary interest disclosures and none were declared. Then the agenda was approved by motion, and it carried.

There was one small messy moment where the agenda motion wording had the wrong month and date. It said May instead of March. They still approved the agenda, but the record shows that mix-up.

Approving past minutes

The board approved the minutes from two prior meetings. One was the regular meeting from November 21, 2024, and the other was a special meeting from December 12, 2024. Both sets of minutes were adopted as presented.

Main presentation: Human trafficking, what it looks like, and how it connects to the County. The main presentation was from an OPP human trafficking investigator who explained what human trafficking is and what their unit does. The presenter made it clear that trafficking is about exploitation, usually involving threats, control, and forcing someone to provide labour or sexual services.

The presenter also clarified that trafficking is different from smuggling, since smuggling is mainly about moving people across borders, while trafficking is about exploitation once the person is under someone’s control.

A big focus was the difference between labour trafficking and sexual exploitation. The presenter said sexual exploitation makes up about 90% of what their team deals with, but labour trafficking can happen too, including in areas with farms or seasonal labour. The presenter described labour trafficking patterns like poor living conditions, taking documents, controlling wages, and trapping people in debt or false promises.

For sexual exploitation, the presentation focused on recruitment, grooming, and control. The presenter said a common statistic is that recruitment happens around age 15, and the youngest they personally dealt with was 12, with a reference to an even younger case in another area. They stressed that these offenders are highly skilled at manipulation and that victims should not be blamed.

They also explained two common pimp styles. One is the violent threat-based approach. The other, described as the more common one, is the boyfriend style approach where the offender builds trust fast, sells a fantasy, and then starts controlling and exploiting the person. The presenter said offenders often move victims across regions, using hotels and sometimes short-term rentals.

A victim video was played to show what exploitation can feel like and why it is hard to leave. It emphasized that leaving often happens because someone in authority treats the victim like a person, listens, and connects them to real supports. The presenter reinforced that the goal is not only charges, but also getting the victim safe and supported.

They talked about policing tactics too. Sometimes police do “dates” online to check safety, confirm age, and see whether the person is there freely. For youth under 18, they said police can bring them to safety right away. They also described proactive tactics where police post ads to identify people seeking underage sex, and they go after those predators.

Board discussion and local concerns

Board members asked detailed questions and added context.

There was discussion about what “safety” means in the Criminal Code definition of exploitation. A board member pointed out that safety includes psychological safety, not just physical harm.

There was discussion about victims who may commit crimes while being exploited. The board raised how hard it is in Canada for exploited people to use legal defenses if they were coerced. A comparison was made to the UK’s Modern Slavery Act, which has a clearer defense in law. The presenter responded that police and Crown prosecutors often try to use discretion and support victims getting reduced outcomes when it fits the situation, and that awareness is improving.

A major local question came up about whether human trafficking is “notorious” in the County, especially in Airbnbs. The presenter said they had not personally been directed to a County Airbnb trafficking situation, though it is possible. They said they have gone to Airbnbs in nearby areas like Belleville and other cities, but not in the County so far.

A second board member reinforced they had also heard claims that County Airbnbs are being used for trafficking. They asked if there are metrics that show whether policing is “winning.” The presenter said reported numbers across Ontario keep rising, partly because awareness is higher and victims sometimes realize years later they were trafficked. They also noted the growth of short-term rentals may be part of why the topic comes up more.

There was also a question about biker gangs in the County and whether biker gangs connect to trafficking. The local detachment confirmed they are aware of a property and that dedicated officers monitor it. The trafficking investigator added that biker gangs can be involved in trafficking.

There was a question about how cooperative hotels are. The presenter said hotels are generally helpful, especially reactively when police need records or video, though some may require warrants depending on cooperation.

Other business: community safety and well-being, budgets, and detachment updates

After the presentation was received by motion, the meeting moved into routine board business.

A community safety and well-being working group update was given. The group had met again in February after a break. They clarified funding and reporting, explaining it is a co-funded plan with money in both the municipal budget and the detachment board budget. They said the working group would meet again in May and bring a spending proposal to the board in June, with regular reporting after approval.

The board also received the operating budget statements.

A short complaints and secondary activities update was given, reporting zero public complaints so far in 2025 and zero secondary employment submissions by officers.

The detachment commander delivered the annual report and said it would be their last annual report because they had submitted a retirement letter. They gave clear dates including last day in uniform May 16 and retirement August 31.

They also introduced a new detective sergeant taking charge of the local crime unit, replacing a recently retired leader.

A positive community item was shared: the OPP Golden Helmets precision motorcycle team was confirmed for a performance at the Picton Fair in September. It was described as a big win and free for the municipality.

The commander then walked through strategic priorities and local results. The themes were member wellness, investigative excellence, and community policing. They emphasized community safety and well-being pillars like housing and homelessness, senior support, poverty reduction, mental health and substance issues, and domestic violence.

A large section covered stats and trends. The commander said the County is very safe, with crime trending down over years, and highlighted reductions in break and enters and mischief, plus strong traffic safety results including zero motor vehicle fatalities in two straight years. They also highlighted proactive policing like foot patrol logs rising sharply over time.

They highlighted partnerships around victims of violence and a domestic violence investigator role, plus school-based consent and boundaries presentations. They also described mental health response supports like an integrated mobile crisis response model, and internal wellness work for officers and families.

The meeting ended with motions to receive reports, approve the annual report to council, confirm the next meeting date, and adjourn.

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Disclaimer: This article is based on a meeting with an approximate duration of 1:38:005. Due to the length of the meeting, our team was not able to independently review the full recording in its entirety. As a result, we relied on software-generated transcription, automated summarization, and automated recognition of speakers and participants, which may not be entirely accurate. All transcriptions, summaries, and related content are prepared by our team in good faith and on a reasonable best-efforts basis. The content is provided for general informational purposes only and is intended to support public understanding of the topics discussed. While reasonable efforts have been made to present the information accurately, automated processes may result in errors, omissions, or unintended misinterpretations. This article does not constitute an official, certified, or verbatim record of the meeting, and it should not be relied upon as such. Readers are encouraged to consult original source materials, official minutes, or recordings where available for confirmation or clarification. Questions, requests for clarification, or suggested corrections may be submitted to hello@pecconnect.ca for review and consideration.