ABOUT
Her Time: Organized Crime and its Effect on Women
Her Time was created in response to a visible involvement of young women in gangs and organized crime. There is a lack of education and access to resources for females involved in, or vulnerable to gangs. This anti-gang initiative focuses on females entangled in the gang lifestyle and provides them with information on the dangers and effects of gangs in girls. Women are provided with access to resources and exiting tools.
Her Time was started by Detective Anisha Parhar and Detective Sandy Avelar, while active gang crime detectives and partners on the frontline. Anisha and Sandy present with women who have successfully exited lives in organized crime, their experiences and stories assist young girls and women who may be exposed to gangs. Their program is in demand in law enforcement agencies, colleges, high schools, public health agencies, and in the service industry. This is the only female led, female focused program of its kind in British Columbia, Canada.
'There’s a lot of information that we can bring to the public and try to educate them, but what’s more powerful than hearing the story from someone that’s lived it?'
OUR TEAM
Detective Sandy Avelar
Detective Sandy Avelar has served for over 20 years with the her police department, including tours in Vice and the Organized Crime Section Gang Crime Unit. She has extensive operational experience and serves as a Tactical Advisor for her agency. Sandy has devoted the majority of her career to youth and gang work and sits on the board of directors for the Boys Club Network. Sandy has specialized training from the National Gang Crime Research Center in Chicago in International and Transnational Gang Problems and in Gang Prevention Skills, while also presenting at the Center. She is also in graduate school, completing her thesis on gang wives and organized crime. Sandy is the co-founder of “Her Time”, an anti-gang initiative for females.
Detective Anisha Parhar
Detective Anisha Parhar is in her tenth year with her police department. Anisha is currently working within the Organized Crime Section Gang Crime Unit and is actively involved in anti-gang initiatives. Prior to policing, Anisha worked for the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia for five years, within the Covert Intelligence Section. Within the covert intelligence position, Anisha was exposed to multi-million-dollar organized crime files that reached national, cross border and international levels. She has since focused her career on Organized Crime and Intelligence. Anisha is the co-founder of “Her Time”, an anti-gang initiative for females and has presented “Her Time” in a number of venues, including at the National Gang Crime Research Center’s annual conference in Chicago, IL.