Campaign aims to combat gang activity on Ontario First Nations

First Nation police forces in Ontario are taking a stand against growing gang-related activity and violence.

The Anishinabek Police Service is starting a new social media campaign called, 'If You See It, Report It,' to encourage those living on First Nations to report violent incidents.

“We will nip this,” Anishinabek Police Sgt. Chantal Larocque said.

“There’s a misconception that they can get away with this on Frist Nation territory because of staffing issues.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, police across the province say criminal activity on First Nations has been increasing. Shootings, drug abuse as well as human trafficking have all become a growing challenge.

“We have to get community members engaged in reporting stuff and the more reports we get, the more substance we get for warrants,” said Larocque.

The Anishinabek Police Service launched a new social media campaign to improve the lines of communication between police and First Nation communities.

Oftentimes, Larocque said people are reluctant to file a police report and when they do, they go about it in a way that the information can't be used by police.

“Some people are just posting what happened on social media," she said.

"You can’t make a report to the band office for police. You can’t just go and tell it for a friend. There’s a way of doing it and that’s the basis of the campaign."

When filing a police report, Larocque said the best thing to do is provide a first-hand experience of what happened.

Indigenous youth advocate Nevaeh Pine is the face of the campaign. She is passionate about advocating for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) and took it on to inspire communities not to remain silent.

“I know of people who have been scared on reserve and people have to lock their doors,” Pine said.

She recounted an incident in which she was walking with her sister on the reserve and someone in a vehicle approached her asking her where to find drugs.

“I want my kids to grow up in a place where it’s safe where we don’t have to worry about human trafficking or MMIW,” Pine said.

“Our reserves need to be more educated on this when it comes to what’s happening in our reserves and communities.”

Police hope that by uniting police agencies and communities, they can address these growing concerns.

To see more about the campaign, click here.