The strategy report Disrupting County Lines: Policing Strategy 2024-2027 has been released by the National Police Chief Counsel (‘NPCC’), with the National County Lines Co-Ordination Centre (‘NCLCC’). Modern slavery and human trafficking within the UK often occurs across County Lines related to illicit drug trade, which means a coordinated response is required by police forces and first responders to identify victims of exploitation. Individuals recruited to sell drugs are often vulnerable adults or minors, who need to be identified as victims of criminality and reported to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). Most children involved in County Lines are between 15-17, however some are younger. The strategy pulls on recent statistics from the NRM whereby 11% of referrals were involved with County Lines. The strategy to disrupt County Lines was initiated in 2019, since which 5,000 drug lines have been closed. Furthermore, the strategy aims to:
- Prevent people engaging in County Lines, and the associated violence and exploitation.
- Proactively safeguard children and vulnerable adults from harm.
- Better prepare communities by building resilience against the harms of County Lines.
- Relentlessly pursue offenders, including Organised Criminal Groups, Urban Street Gangs and individuals running County Lines.
See here for the full report Disrupting County Lines: Policing Strategy 2024-2027.
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the United Kingdom’s system that identifies potential victims of modern slavery. Annual statistics for 2023, as well as the 4th quarter October – December 2023 have been released in March 2024. The increases in referrals to the NRM are likely due to increased awareness of modern slavery, as well as potential increases in exploitation. Major findings detail:
4th Quarter, October – December 2023
- 4,142 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the Home Office, a similar number to the previous quarter (4,131) and a 6% decrease from the same quarter in 2022 (4,413).
- The most common nationality referred in the quarter were UK nationals (27%; 1,139). Albanian nationals were the second most commonly referred with 802 referrals (19%), with Vietnamese nationals third with 268 referrals (6%).
- Of the 4,142 potential victims referred, 48% (1978) were potential victims who claimed to have been exploited when they were adults, whilst 47% (1,945) claimed to have been exploited when they were children. Of these, 75% (3,097) were male and 25% (1,041) were female.
- Regarding the type of exploitation most commonly seen amongst referrals, the highest proportion of referrals were for criminal exploitation only (28%; 1,172). For adult potential victims, labour exploitation was most commonly reported (34%; 680), whereas child potential victims were more commonly referred for criminal exploitation (43%; 844). Though referrals flagged as county lines partly drove the increase in referrals for children within the criminal exploitation category between 2020 to 2022 (average of over 550 referrals each quarter), in 2023, the number of referrals flagged fell to an average of around 390 each quarter.
Overall in 2023, 15,247 reasonable grounds and 9,825 conclusive grounds decision were made. Of these, 55% of RG decisions and 66% of CG decisions were positive. The number of CG decisions was the highest annual number made since the NRM began.
The full Home office report can be found here, Modern Slavery: National Referral Mechanism and Duty to Notify statistics UK, quarter 4 2023 – October to December.
The UK Home Office has published the most recent Modern Slavery Statistics, covering quarter 3 of 2020 (July – September).
Home Office reports that 2,506 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the NRM. 1,224 (29%) of the NRM referrals claimed exploitation as adults whilst 1,159 (46%) claimed exploitation as children. For 5% of the referral their age at exploitation was unknown.
Overall, of the 2,506 potential victims referred in this quarter, 74% (1,853) were male and 26% (647) were female; these proportions are similar to the previous quarter. For adult potential victims, 69% (849) were male and 31% (374) were female, whilst for child potential victims, 79% (912) were male and 21% (242) were female.
The statistics flag the issue of ‘county lines’ exploitation of children – with 401 referrals flagged as county lines referrals, accounting for 16% of all referrals received in the quarter. The majority (82%; 328) of these referrals were made for male children.
UK, Albanian and Vietnamese citizens remain the most common nationalities referred to the NRM.
For detailed statistics please see the government website here.
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support. This statistical bulletin gives a summary and breakdown of the number of potential victims of modern slavery referred into the National Referral Mechanism from 1 January to 31 March 2020 (quarter 1).
Follow this link for the NRM Statistics UK, Quarter 1 2020 – January to March.
A report released last year by the Freedom Fund and John Jay College gives some of the first reliable estimates in relation to how many children are involved in the adult entertainment industry in Kathmandu. It has always been known that a significant number of young people and children work in the adult entertainment industry in Kathmandu, but until recently no reliable estimates existed as to the true scale of the problem.
The study found that approximately 1650 young people under the age of 17 are working in the adult entertainment industry, making up approximately 17% of those working in the industry. The study also found 62% of workers were working in the industry before the age of 18. The majority of underage workers in the adult entertainment industry were found to be working in sexually exploitative environments and 99% were considered to be held in the worst forms of child slavery as defined by the International Labour Organisation’s convention.
The full study can be found
here.
In 2016 a report by the International Labour Organisation found that on any given day there were around 25 million people subjected to forced labour, of which just over 4 million people were below the age of 18. This report by the ILO looks back on the targets set by the international community to end forced labour by 2030 and ensure that child labour had been eradicated by 2025, and aims to guide policy and procedure in the lead up to these key dates. The report is split into three sections:
- Key numbers relating to global modern slavery and the ways in which it may manifest.
- Ending forced labour through the 2014 forced labour protocol: which is broken into 4 key parts; Prevention, Protection, Remedies, and Enforcement.
- and, Ending forced labour in children and adults: looking forward to 2030 and 2025.
These sections identify the background and key information surrounding modern slavery, the current international instruments, and makes suggestions for ensuring that the targets are met.
The report can be found here.
The report, Criminal Networks Involved in the Trafficking and Exploitation of Underage Victims in the European Union analyses data from Europol’s action against child trafficking between 2015 – 2017. The importance of this analysis into child trafficking reflects minors being an extremely vulnerable sector of society. Children are often lured into labour or sexual exploitation, and as a result suffer severe physical and psychological damage. This report provides key information that highlights limitations in current systems, that can be used to create a strategy against future trafficking of children.
Key findings from the report:
- Child trafficking in the EU Trafficking and exploitation of male minors (especially for sexual exploitation) still remains an under-reported phenomenon at EU level.
- Traffickers active in the EU target underage victims mainly for sexual exploitation but also labour exploitation, to beg and to commit criminal acts, such as pickpocketing and shoplifting. Children are also trafficked for illegal adoption and sham marriages.
- Children are trafficked from around the world to the EU. The majority of nonEU networks reported to Europol involved Nigerian OCGs which traffic female minors and women to be sexually exploited. The OCGs are spread along the entire trafficking route and operate in several EU Member States.
- The majority of EU trafficking networks for child sexual exploitation reported to Europol are small in size (usually fewer than five key suspects) and active in one country at a time.
- Particularly harmful EU networks are large family clans which mainly traffic children for the purpose of begging, forced criminality and sexual exploitation. These clans operate in several countries at the same time and rotate victims on a regular basis.
- Children in migration and unaccompanied minors are at higher risk of trafficking and exploitation. Although the scale of trafficking of unaccompanied minors remains unknown, a future increase is expected.
For the full report Criminal Networks Involved in the Trafficking and Exploitation of Underage Victims in the European Union, October 2018, read here.
Freedom Fund’s research follows on from a 2010 report with findings showing one third of girls working Kathmandu’s adult entertainment sector. The commercial sexual exploitation of children is reported in alarmingly high statistics where massage parlours, dance bars, cabin restaurants and guest houses and across the wider hospitality industry are used as fronts to allow the behaviour. Their recent 2018 research seeks to explore the root of the issue in the demand for child sexual exploitation. It concludes that while there is common understanding amongst those involved in the industry that sex with children is unacceptable, there are cultural factors and historical narratives that excuses their behaviour. This report highlights the issues with this status quo and challenges such moral norms to guide policy and regulatory action against this demand.
For the full October 2018 Freedom Fund Report: ‘Minors in Kathmandu’s adult entertainment sector: What’s driving demand?’ read here.
Europol’s latest report follows as human trafficking is a crime priority in the 2018 – 2021 EU Policy Cycle. Notably, Europol reports that approximately 28 percent of global trafficking victims are children, who are preyed on as they are one of the most vulnerable and weak social sectors. In the EU, traffickers target minors primarily for sexual exploitation, also labour exploitation and forced criminality. A prominent issue is the lack of reporting around male minors trafficked or exploited within the EU.
The aim is to disrupt organised crime groups (OCGs) involved in intra-EU human trafficking and human trafficking from the most prevalent external source countries for the purposes of labour exploitation and sexual exploitation, including those groups using legal business structures to facilitate or disguise their criminal activities.
For the full October 2018 report ‘Criminal networks involved in the trafficking and exploitation of underage victims in the EU’, read here.
UNICEF’s report Victim, Not Criminal analyses the current legal framework concerning non-punishment of child victims of human trafficking involved in forced criminality. The report critiques the implementation of the Section 45 slavery defence and provides recommendations for change. Key recommendations include:
- The reasonable person test relating to the statutory defence in Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act should no longer apply to children
- Mechanisms are put in place by the prosecuting agencies and government to properly monitor the implementation of the non-punishment principle across the UK
- Further training and awareness-raising is made available for police, prosecutors, judges, legal representatives and relevant practitioners on the protections from prosecution available for trafficked children.
For the full report Victim, Not Criminal – Trafficked Children and the Non-Punishment Principle in the UK, read here.