The police response to modern slavery may be causing significant
harm to the public interest, a new report has found.
A police super-complaint submitted by Hestia raised concerns that
modern slavery victims were not receiving the support and
understanding they need from the police.
Following a joint investigation into these concerns, Her
Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue
Services (HMICFRS), the College of Policing and the Independent
Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found that while the police
response to modern slavery has improved, victims are not always
made to feel safe and do not always get the support they deserve.
The report recommends that the Home Office, chief constables, the
Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, victims’ commissioners and
the Crown Prosecution Service work together to better understand
victims’ experiences and what improvements they need to make.
It also makes other recommendations, including that chief
constables should:
- ensure staff have access to training and specialist
knowledge, and understand victim support arrangements;
- allocate modern slavery investigations to teams and
individuals with the right skills and experience; and
- work together with police and crime commissioners to
understand what support victims of modern slavery need.
Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams
said:
“Modern slavery is a complex crime which often goes unseen.
Perpetrators will prey on the most vulnerable in society, and
manipulate them with psychological abuse, fear and violence.
“It is encouraging that since our last inspection in 2017, the
police’s understanding of and response to modern slavery has
improved, with an increase in recording of offences and police
forces getting better at identifying crimes of this nature. But
identifying the crime is only the first step in ensuring
protection and justice for victims.
“Policing cannot achieve this alone. There needs to be a seamless
system of enforcement against offenders, and support for these
extremely vulnerable victims.
“We thank Hestia for submitting this super-complaint, which has
shone a light on where the police response to these appalling
crimes has improved, and where more needs to be done. The
experiences and needs of victims must be at the centre of this.”
IOPC Director General Michael Lockwood said:
“It is vital that victims of modern slavery and human trafficking
feel safe and supported by the police and the criminal justice
system as a whole. Those victims have already suffered at the
hands of their traffickers and captors and should not be
victimised again when they are seeking justice and their freedom.
“While it is pleasing to see the response from the police service
has improved there is always more that can be done and our report
makes recommendations which will go further to protect and
support some of society’s most vulnerable victims. The
super-complaints process can provide confidence and assurance to
victims that action will be taken to improve the way they are
supported.”
Interim Chief Executive Officer of the College of
Policing Bernie O’Reilly said:
“This report is the result of a successful and collaborative
effort between the three super-complaint organisations, and we
are grateful to Hestia for raising concerns about the complex and
largely hidden crime of modern slavery and the policing response
to it. It is vital that policing is as effective as possible in
combatting this dreadful crime of exploitation that causes so
much misery to the most vulnerable in our society.
“We are pleased to see that since the 2017 HMICFRS inspection
report on modern slavery and human trafficking, the police
response has improved. We also recognise that further work needs
to be carried out to achieve greater consistency when it comes to
identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery across
forces. Greater efforts should also be taken to ensure that
victims feel supported throughout the investigative process, as
their engagement and confidence in the police service is
fundamental to bringing perpetrators of modern slavery to
justice.
“We will now work with our operational colleagues and those
across government to take the recommendation forward, so that our
advice and guidance best equips policing to address this form of
exploitation and abuse.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
-
HMICFRS, the
College of Policing and
the Independent Office for Police
Conduct are responsible for assessing, investigating and
reporting on police super-complaints. We have collaborated on
this investigation and on drawing conclusions.
- The police super-complaints system allows designated
organisations to raise issues on behalf of the public about
harmful patterns or trends in policing.
- This super-complaint was
made by Hestia about the police response to victims of modern
slavery.
- More information about police super complaints can be found
on GOV.UK.
