Jordanian police in Ottawa for specialized training on combating human trafficking

A delegation of police officers from Jordan's anti-human trafficking unit is in Ottawa this week to learn best practices for combating human trafficking from experts from across Canada.

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

This is part of a larger project to strengthen anti-human trafficking efforts in Jordan, implemented by consultancy firm Alinea International. It comes amid concerns that Jordan's large refugee population is vulnerable to exploitation.

Wayne Hissong, a law enforcement expert, began working on this project two years ago when he provided basic and advanced training courses to more than 85 police officers in Jordan.

Wayne Hissong, a law enforcement expert involved in the training project, says it has been a great opportunity to share best practices with Jordanian officers. (Patrick Louiseize/CBC)

“Once they met Wayne and started learning about the Canadian system, the Jordanian officers wanted to come here and find out how Canadian police fight human trafficking,” said Andrea Wojtak, an expert in deals also working on the project.

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

“They are very experienced in conducting investigations and identifying trafficking victims,” Hissong said, adding that the focus on victims is what makes a huge difference in the training.

“It means we respond to needs without judgment,” he said.

As an expert on human trafficking who has worked in several different countries, Andrea Wojtak said it was important to focus on a victim-centered approach. (Patrick Louiseize/CBC)

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

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

“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 prioritizing their needs must be done on a global scale,” she said.

Concern for refugee victims

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

Human trafficking is a problem felt around the world, and in Jordan it is usually carried out by individuals rather than organized groups, Al-Khalifat said in Arabic.

“We hope to bring 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 is home to more than two million Palestinian refugees and around 665,000 Syrian refugees, according to UNRWA and UNHCR, many of whom could be vulnerable to human trafficking.

Major Muhammad Al-Khalifat is one of four Jordanian police officers who arrived in Ottawa for specialized training. (Patrick Louiseize/CBC)

“We care a lot about the refugees in our country and we have appointed many officers to monitor the refugees in their camps so that they are not exploited and subjected to human trafficking,” Al-Khalifat said.

Al-Khalifat said he looked forward to learning more about Canadian methods and practices, including the use of open source intelligence (OSINT) to help gather information on victims and predators. This might look like scouring social media to gather clues from photographs or comments.

“I hope to learn more about how the use of new technologies, [we] are able to identify the crime scene and how to deal with it,” he said.

The police delegation will return to Jordan later this week, and Hissong is expected to return to Jordan at a later date to help implement the new skills acquired by the police officers.