Lyna Mohamad
Representatives from several local media agencies attended a two-day workshop on ‘Combatting Trafficking in Persons (TIP): How Law Enforcement and the Press Can Work Together’ organised by the United States (US) Embassy in Brunei Darussalam at the Radisson Hotel in the capital.
The workshop began yesterday with welcoming remarks from Public Affairs Officer of the US Embassy Jeff Barus who highlighted that human trafficking is a shared problem that affects Brunei, the US and globally.
“It may happen right under our noses because we don’t recognise the crime. Therefore, by increasing public awareness about the risks and signs of human trafficking is an important piece of any anti-trafficking strategy,” he said.
The two-day workshop, he added, is designed to encourage closer cooperation between the press and law enforcement officials to combat trafficking.
The workshop also included ‘Covering Trafficking in Persons’ presented by Sasha Larkin, Assistant Sheriff at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Nevada in the US.
Larkin has served Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for over 24 years and currently oversees two divisions comprising the Law Enforcement Investigations Special Operations Group: the Homeland Security Division and the Investigative Services
Division.
Discussions during the workshop also included matters on understanding what constitutes TIP, why language matters when covering TIP and what the public needs to know to recognise and report.
The workshop will continue today with a joint workshop on how law enforcement and media can cooperate to combat TIP.
