Police in Longueuil have a new plan to deal with sexual exploitation on their territory.
The South Shore police force announced Wednesday they are teaming up with local health agencies and community groups to offer victims a way out.
Police say they'll now have an entirely different focus when they encounter victims of sexual exploitation.
“As soon as we can detect one of them and she needs the help, she’s going to benefit from an apartment, a job, being followed by the health system,” explained Longueuil Police Chief Fady Dagher. “She’s going to be taken care of from A to Z, but we’re not going to even talk about ‘Do you want to press charges? Do you want to go to the justice system, the court?’ What we'll be focusing on is the girl, how we can help you to step out.”
It's believed about 65 young people - mainly girls as young as 14 young women up to about age 25 who are from Longueuil - are currently being sexually exploited.
Unsurprisingly, the landscape of sexual exploitation is now mainly formed online, with predators or pimps approaching vulnerable young people and offering them money, drugs and affection.
The already difficult and scattered problem is exacerbated by the fact that many who are sexually exploited don't press charges for fear of reprisals.
Police say the new program won't stop them from going after pimps, but this will be an additional solution to a problem that is more insidious in the age of social media.
The victims will be housed in a safe house while they get their lives back on track.
The federal government is funding the new program with $850,000 for five years. Longueuil police believe they can help 100 people in that time.
