This is important!

[JuliasUndies 7288]

Thank you for this. I am at loss of words, this is awful.

[scribbles 6031]

I just read this moments before logging on to CERB. It is a bitter irony that the day after a social for sex workers and clients that expressed not only good will and mutual respect, but generated a mountain of toys for charity and donations to a needy family, sex workers are being warned that they are being targeted. Bitter and sickening.

 

Directed at street workers or otherwise, please please be careful ladies. Until this kind of menace can be abated by a proper reevaluation of laws and legislation, it's up to the community to care for itself. Speaking as a client and, I hope, friend to some of you I hope you'll take whatever precautions are necessary to ensure your safety and the safety of your fellow workers. And if there is anything the clients can do themselves, let us know.

 

Sent from my HTC EVO 3D X515a using Tapatalk

[zorobaby 4121]

i heard this live on 1310 news, its redivulous what people have been doing. Police are urging all sex trade workers to report "bad dates" also, apparently there will be no repocussions to reporting "bad dates" and letting police know that you are involved in the sex trade. Safety first, in more then one way, if it seems off... dont go ahead with it. No one wants to see someone get hurt or worse.

 

Zoro

[spud271 47779]

This whole thing is very disturbing. A very sad situation that makes absolutely no sense to me at all. Clearly someone is targeting sex workers, so please be safe everyone.

[canuckhooker 19203]

Two quick points. The first is that is clear that the arguments made in the Bedford case are clearly on point. That people on the margins of society are often the victims. Not that sex workers in my mind are marginal, but the laws force many to the shadows where they fall prey to those with evil intent.

 

The second is rather refreshing. That the police are actually addressing the safety of sex workers in a fairly non-discriminatory way. They are showing a lot of concern for the situation, and their approach is not "don't be a sex worker" but rather how to keep yourself safe, and offering ways for that to happen.

[Cowboy kenny 50799]

Agreed, I'm encouraged by the proactive/non judgmental stance the police are taking on this matter. And yes please be safe and trust your instincts ladies!

[castle 38816]

Thanks for posting CK. I just read about this and was about to come on and post it. Please play safe out there everyone..

[scribbles 6031]

From details I heard in the news today, this all relates to 6 unsolved murders of sex workers over a 20 year period in Ottawa. Smells a little of suspicions of a serial killer, to me.

 

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[Kate von Katz 49953]

This is how the police in Victoria, BC treated ladies: safety first. I'm glad to see that things are finally changing here, too, but so sad that it had to come to this to get people to realize it. Hopefully with the police being more protective and hopefully more approachable for workers who find themselves in sketchy situations, this will stave off further attacks. My heart goes out to the families and friends of these women.

[Andi 262]

Its just public relations, just before Christmas the LE was on the war path trying to arrest me and my client at a local hotel, they had nothing and made up a bunch of BS but there was zero interest in being helpful. I was an out an out criminal and so was he even they could prove nothing and we had done nothing wrong. This "serial killer" is being pinned on every street walker murder in the last 21 years, all six of them. Be very careful with this the LE are manipulating public opinion to give them support in harassing us more.

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

CBC reports, 25 Jan 2012 (includes 2-minute video):

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/01/25/ottawa-sex-trade-workers-police.html

 

A new unit of Ottawa police investigating human trafficking is planning meetings with sex-trade workers in hopes of learning more about a pattern of unsolved homicides in the city.

 

Ottawa police in December had warned sex-trade workers about a pattern of violence and asked them to be extra cautious about their safety. Around the same time, police began the human trafficking unit.

 

The two-person unit is planning to hold meetings with sex-trade workers in shelters and away from the streets in an effort to bridge relations.

 

Police also hope to gather information about bad experiences they have had on the job that may provide direction in their investigation.

 

Prostitute says she wouldn't talk

 

Angie, a prostitute CBC News spoke with on condition we protect her identity, said she still doesn't trust police and said she'd be unlikely to meet with them.

 

"Whenever the officers see me they don't treat me with respect," she said. "They're rude, they shove me away. They call me names. I wouldn't tell them anything. And I wouldn't want to be seen talking to them. The other girls may call me a rat."....

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

CBC News reports, 10 Feb 2012:

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/02/10/f-ottawa-police-probe-prostitute-violence.html

 

(includes 1 min video)

 

CBC Ottawa to look at violence against prostitutes

 

Starting Monday [Feb 13], CBC Ottawa's Judy Trinh will talk to prostitutes about the dangers they face, look at the challenges police have in reaching out to them and investigate how police are progressing in their efforts to catch a killer.

 

Listen to Judy's reports starting Monday on CBC Radio One 91.5 and watch on CBC News starting at 5.

 

One of the people Judy talks to is Angie, who describes in the above video the grip drugs have had on her while she has worked as a prostitute.

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

CBC News reports, 14 Feb 2012:

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/02/08/ottawa-prostitute-serial-predator-two.html

 

Sex workers, Ottawa police urged to co-operate

 

Head of aboriginal women's centre hopes police work harder to help area prostitutes

 

A local organization is upset police have taken so long to get in tune with the needs of and threats against Ottawa's sex workers.

 

Ottawa police say there is a "pattern" of violence among reported cases of abuse against Ottawa prostitutes. That includes six unsolved slayings dating back to 1990.

 

The head of Minwaashin Lodge, an aboriginal women's support centre, does not know why it took until December 2011 to find that "pattern".

 

Castille Troy is very aware of the ongoing relationship between police and prostitutes. Her Centretown Ottawa lodge runs a sex trade outreach program, which includes a team of social workers who hand out clean needles, clothes and provide first aid to area sex workers.

 

"It's complete sadness and disgust and anger with what's going on," Troy, the centre's executive director, told the CBC's Judy Trinh as part of a CBC News investigation.

 

"Someone is preying on these women and has been for a long time, and it has taken police this long either to figure it out or come forward," she said.

 

Troy knows many prostitutes are afraid of coming forward and not getting any help. Many also fear they could be arrested.

 

Police are trying to change that perception. The force has created a human trafficking unit to separate street sweeps from their search for a serial predator.

 

The unit hopes to improve the relationship with prostitutes, one that has been rocky to say the least.

 

"Part of the strategy is ensuring we have a relationship with prostitutes. By that, I mean specific officers," said Staff Sgt. Uday Jaswal, an inspector in the police's central division.

 

"We are looking at a designated group of officers to spearhead the response."

 

Police reaching out to margins of society

 

The women at risk are the prostitutes practicing "survival sex", which is a small percentage of women working the streets. This group works in the margins of society.

 

Police have started hosting "safe reporting" meetings with prostitutes at city shelters. They want to hear about "bad dates" and need information on a possible serial predator.

 

Many refuse to attend, though, and do not trust any police officers. Despite being victims to numerous attacks, some prostitutes still fear arrest.

 

"They're not going to protect us," said Angie, a long-time Ottawa sex worker featured on CBC News Monday.

 

"They're not going to do anything, really, because of the fact we're doing something against the law."

 

That mentality is still a giant barrier for police. But those who often interact with the city's sex workers, such as Castille Troy, believe it is a big step in the right direction.

 

"It's a positive thing, something that is a first. It shows that police are taking this seriously," Troy said.

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

CBC News reports, 15 Feb 2012:

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/02/09/ottawa-serial-predator-investigation.html

 

(includes video, 4:32)

 

Ontario police help Ottawa predator probe

 

Multiple units involved, investigating more than 2,000 sexual assaults over 11 years

 

Ottawa police have turned to provincial police for assistance in their investigation of a "pattern" of violence involving the city's sex workers, CBC News has learned.

 

The Ontario Provincial Police criminal profiling unit is now looking at the six unsolved slayings of Ottawa sex workers dating back to 1990. They are searching for a possible link between some of the cases, which Ottawa police acknowledged in December 2011.

 

The provincial force's behaviour science unit is also helping the investigation by trying to eliminate and find possible suspects. This unit is also working on a profile of the potential serial predator by looking at how he operates, his fantasies, what his job could be and what he might look like.

 

Former RCMP profiler Glenn Woods said he believes the predator fulfilled a sexual fetish before he slayed a prostitute. He might have also left a distinct signature, which could be the link police are looking for.

 

"These are behaviours they want to do - but don't have to do - to commit the crime," Woods told the CBC's Judy Trinh.

 

"Those are the things that are most likely to link crimes because they don't change over time.

 

Sexual assaults widen police investigation

 

The slain women come from different backgrounds but many were hooked on crack cocaine and feeding their addictions by selling their bodies.

 

It is still possible their deaths could lead back to one killer and to widen the investigation, police are also now looking at violent sexual assaults.

 

The hope, police say, is finding other victims who were abused by the killer but escaped. There is a lot of information, though, with 1,212 unsolved reported sexual assaults in Ottawa since 2001.

 

That has Ottawa police's major crimes unit calling in both extra officers and outside experts.

 

The piles of files are also the reason Ottawa police have taken so long to identify a possible link, according to the former RCMP profiler.

 

Social agencies and centres, such as the Minwaashin Lodge, have also been passing on information to police about possible assaults on street workers.

 

Former profiler calls crimes involving prostitutes challenging

 

But Woods said police did not ignore any "pattern" of violence or drag their feet on an ensuing investigation.

 

He said crimes involving prostitutes are challenging, especially those workers who live on the margins of society.

 

"They are high risk individuals. They place themselves at risk and make it a greater likelihood that they will be victims," Woods said.

 

Ottawa police do have some clues on a possible suspect, but not many.

 

A pair of reading glasses was found lying beside the body of Pamela Kosmack when she found dead in June 2008.

 

Police said the glasses look like the type a man in his 40s or 50s might use.

 

 

Zev Singer reports for the Ottawa Citizen, 16 Feb 2012:

 

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/Prostitution+sweeps+hold+since+December/6160181/story.html

 

Prostitution sweeps on hold since December

 

Move followed announcement of 'pattern' in homicides

 

Ottawa police have not conducted any prostitution sweeps since Chief Vern White's announced in December that a "pattern" had been identified in a number of unsolved murders of prostitutes.

 

Since Dec. 9, when White warned the city's sex workers to take precautions because of a potential threat - police have been loath to use the word "serial killer," but the link between killings is ominous - advocacy groups have been calling for a moratorium on prostitution sweeps.

 

As long as sex workers have to worry about getting arrested, the groups maintain, they cannot afford to take safety precautions, such as working in groups, staying in well-lit areas and taking time to assess potential clients before getting into vehicles.

 

On Wednesday, six community groups issued a release criticizing Ottawa police for failing to enact a moratorium.

 

Emily Symons, chair of one of the groups, called POWER (Prostitutes Ottawa-Gatineau, Work, Educate and Resist), said the decision "sends a clear message to streetbased sex workers that their lives and physical safety are not a priority."

 

Yet, while police won't agree to an outright ban on sweeps, in practical terms they have been consciously moving away from that practice, according to the inspector in charge of such operations in the city's central district.

 

Insp. Uday Jaswal said the police had been working actively on alternative policing approaches since White's announcement.

 

Jaswal said a 2010 court ruling had already changed the Ottawa police practice of conducting routine prostitution sweeps.

 

Since that ruling, Jaswal said, the sweeps, previously done on a monthly basis, had become much less frequent and were only done in response to specific concerns identified in a given neighbourhood. Since the chief's announcement, however, the police service has made an even greater effort to shift away from the sweeps.

 

In the past, Jaswal said, sweeps were thought of not only as a way of addressing community concerns about street prostitution and associated criminal activity, but also as an opportunity to try to connect the sex trade workers with assistance they might need after being arrested. He also said that, with the help of community resources, police were trying to accomplish that latter goal, as much as possible, without arrests.

 

Jaswal also said Ottawa police had been developing a mechanism for "safe reporting," through which sex workers could report attacks against them without having to fear that they would be charged if they incriminated themselves while making the report. Such a program exists in Montreal, and Ottawa police are starting to use it now. Jaswal gave credit to POWER for suggesting the idea.

 

At the same time, Jaswal said, police need to retain the option of using sweeps.

 

"There may be a time when enforcement is required."

 

Symons, the POWER chair, said that was not good enough and the sex trade workers needed a declaration that there would be no sweeps "until the predator is caught and convicted. As long as the threat is there, we've accomplished nothing."

 

The CBC Ottawa website reported that Ottawa police had sought assistance from the Ontario Provincial Police to create a profile of the person responsible for the unsolved sex worker killings.

 

Supt. Ty Cameron of the Ottawa police would not comment on the report. "We are not releasing anything about the investigation," he said.