Modern Slavery Strategy Cheshire€¦ · • Child slavery In addition to forced child labour, this can involve child traﬃcking, forced marriage and child domestic servitude •

2017-19

ModernSlavery StrategyCheshire

Contents

Foreword 04

What is modern slavery 04

How can it happen 06

The Modern Slavery Act 06

What is already happening 07

Our vision 10

Our priorities 10

Signs of human trafficking and modern slavery 13

How to report suspicions 13

Modern Slavery Strategy 03

04 Modern Slavery Strategy

I am proud to present our new Modern Slavery Strategy on behalf ofCheshire Police and our four local Councils

Across the region, we recognise the reality thattrafficking, slavery and exploitation is not aproblem of the past. It is happening right here,right now - and we will not tolerate it. The timehas come for concerted, co-ordinated action toensure that children and adults are protected.

The purpose of this document is to set out ourstrategic approach in how we intend to continueto develop the good work already happeninglocally. Aligning with our Police and Crime Plan2016-21, it will help us to work collectively andcollaboratively to prevent, identify, disrupt, stopand eradicate modern slavery in all its forms, andwill result in our boroughs being an even saferand happier place to live.

David ParrChair of the Protecting Vulnerable People Board

Foreword

What is modern slaveryModern slavery can and does have a devastatingand lasting impact on victims, children andfamilies in countries all over the world,including our own.

It is by its nature a largely hidden crime, but theGovernment recently estimated that between10,000 and 13,000 people are currently beingsubjected to some form of modern slavery in theUK - and, although some may be more vulnerableto exploitation than others, it is an issueunrestricted by age, gender or background.

The term ‘Modern slavery’ captures a whole range oftypes of exploitation, many of which occur together.

These include, but are not limited to:

• Traffickinginvolving the transportation, recruitment, receipt orharbouring of people for purposes of exploitation(sexual, forced labour, slavery or organ removal) usingimmoral means, including violence, threats,deception, coercion, abduction or bribery. Traffickingis not to be confused with smuggling, which isinitiated with the wilful agreement of a personactively seeking to move without detection, so doesnot involve coercion or threats

• Sexual exploitationincluding sexual abuse, forced prostitution and theproduction of child pornography

• Forced labourwith victims being forced to work long hours for littleor no pay, in poor conditions and under threat ofviolence to them and/or their families

• Domestic servitudewhere a victim is forced to work in a privatehousehold, usually performing domestic chores andchildcare duties

• Child slaveryIn addition to forced child labour, this can involvechild trafficking, forced marriage and child domesticservitude

• Criminal exploitationThe exploitation of a person to commit a crime orcombination of crimes, such as shoplifting, cannabiscultivation, drug trafficking and other similaractivities.

In the UK in 2015 3,266people were identifiedas potential victims oftrafficking

This is a 40% increase on2014

Of the 3,266 30% werechildren (982)

42% of reported traffickingvictims were victims ofsexual exploitation

24% of reported domesticservitude victims werechildren

36% were subjected toforced labour

Modern slavery has a huge economic impact, not just social

It was recently estimated to cost the UK over £890m a year

ModernSlavery

53% of those victimswere female

47% of victims were male

The 3,266 potentialvictims identifiedoriginated from 103different countries

The six most prevalentwere:

• Albania

• Vietnam

• Nigeria

• Romania

• The United Kingdom

• Poland

In the United Kingdom

In the case of children (those under 18 years old), the ‘means’ element does not need to be proved; only theAct and the Purpose. Currently, the most commonly identified area of trafficking across our boroughs relatesto Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE). We already have strategies to address CSE and Children Missing FromHome and Care - available at: www.proceduresonline.com/pancheshire - both of which have very stronglinks to child trafficking and, consequently, the priority areas for all three of these issues are related. Thereare also connections to gang-related activity, with people being criminally exploited for example, andCheshire has undertaken to support a number of unaccompanied asylum seekers in recent months. We needto remain vigilant to the safeguarding risks that many of these and others present

Common to all of the above will be the abuse of power or vulnerability to coerce people into a life ofexploitation, servitude and inhumane treatment for the personal or financial gain of others. An importantdistinction between children and adults, however, is in the issue of consent to their treatment. In cases of childslavery, consent is irrelevant. It is a consideration in identifying adult, however - but is also irrelevant if the adulthas been deceived or coerced

The internationally recognised definition for human trafficking is the Palermo Protocol definition. In order toprove an offence of human trafficking, three elements need to be established:

The ACTWhat is done

• Recruitment• Transportation• Transfer• Harbouring, or• Receipt of persons

The PURPOSEWhy it is done

That is, for the purposesof exploitation, includingany of the types of abuselisted above


The MEANSHow it is done

• Threat or use of force• Coercion• Abduction• Fraud• Deceptive use of power or

vulnerability, or• Giving payments or benefits as a

means to control

...... ......

How it can happenPerpetrators of modern slavery constantly adapt theirtactics to evade detection. They will target vulnerable,hidden or marginalised groups, with many victimscoming from backgrounds that make them reluctant toseek help from authorities. These can include;unaccompanied, internally displaced children; childrenaccompanied by an adult who is not a relative or legalguardian; young women and girls; former victims ofmodern slavery or trafficking; adults who are vulnerabledue to substance misuse issues, debts (in their countryof origin or as a result of their illegal migration); mentalhealth problems or learning disabilities; homelessness,or other factors

It is important to note - as statistics on the previouspage illustrate - that victims of modern slavery originatefrom the UK and overseas. However, there are relativelycommon methods often adopted for those who aretrafficked and exploited from abroad

Typically, a person trafficked and exploited fromoverseas comes from a situation of poverty and lack ofopportunity and gets an offer of an apparently good job,with good working conditions, in the UK. Often, thevictim has to take a loan from an agent to pay for thejourney and towards ‘recruitment fees.’ When theperson arrives in Britain, the job and the conditions theyare faced with bear no resemblance to those they werepromised. Their passport is taken away and they aretold that it will only be returned once their loan isrepaid. However, given the victim’s lack of control orclarity around how much, or even if, they will be paid,this represents an indeterminate amount of time

Violence and threats - against the victim, their childrenand their family at home - are common practice, andtraffickers will often know and target the communitythey come from and know their families.

The Modern Slavery Act2015The Modern Slavery Act, the first of its kind in Europe,received Royal Assent in March 2015. The Actconsolidates slavery and trafficking offences andintroduces tougher penalties and sentencing rules.Changes will ensures that the National Crime Agency,the police and other law enforcement agencies have thepower they need to pursue, disrupt and bring to justicethose engaged in human trafficking and slavery,servitude and forced labour. It also introducedmeasures to enhance the protection of victims.

A new Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner hasbeen appointed whose role it is to encourage goodpractice in the prevention, detection, investigation andprosecution of slavery and human trafficking offences,as well as the identification of victims of those offences.This new legislation applies to the whole of the UK.

The Modern Slavery Act also extends the scope of theNational Referral Mechanism (NRM) framework. TheNRM exists to identify potential victims, ensure thatthey receive appropriate and effective support andmake it easier for the agencies involved to co-operateand share information. Further details are outlined inthe ‘How to report suspicions’ section on the final pageof this document - along with details of the anonymousduty to notify (MS1) form should an adult victim beunwilling to be identified and provide their personaldetails

Indicators of trafficking and slavery are contained withinthe form and there is no minimum requirement forjustifying a referral, so staff are encouraged to do so. Allcompleted NRM forms are sent to the UK HumanTrafficking Centre, which will assess and make adecision on whether an individual is a victim of humantrafficking or modern slavery

The powers introduced by the new Modern Slavery Actin no way contradict or supersede those alreadyavailable through existing legislation, such as theChildren Acts 1989 and 2004, which should also beconsidered in conjunction with it.


The Act

• Enables the Secretary of State to activelyregulate agencies in relation to theidentification and support of victims - a newduty to notify authorities of concerns, forexample

• Allows for the introduction of independentchild trafficking advocates

• Introduces new civil restriction orders,including a new reparation order to encouragethe courts to compensate victims whereassets are confiscated from perpetrators

• Brings in a new statutory defence for victimswho are compelled to commit crimes

• and requires businesses over a certainsize and threshold to disclose, annually,what action they have taken to ensure thereis no modern slavery in the business orsupply chain.

Operation Argo

Operation Argo was initiated following community intelligenceabout a group of Lithuanian nationals who were living in houses ofmultiple occupancy, which were in a poor state. They wereemployed by a Lithuanian national who would collect them anddrive them to locations around Chester, where they would then haveto deliver Charity bags. They would be left in those locations,regardless of the weather, until they were collected some time laterand paid a minimal amount of money. The jobs were advertised onLithuanian web pages on the internet. The Operation focused onrescuing the victims, but agencies struggled to provide them withsupport as they wanted to work in the UK and didn’t identifythemselves as victims.

Sexual exploitation

Sexual exploitation is a growing issue and is happening all over theUK. Cheshire is no exception and law enforcement agencies areseeing that this is particularly prevalent within the Romaniancommunity, with organised crime groups setting up ‘pop-up’brothels. Some traffickers pay for short-term, private rentedaccommodation, including hotels and holiday homes, throughwebsites such as booking.com, Airbnb or similar; while others uselow-cost housing as a base, rotating women in and out of thepremises. Adult websites such as Adult Works or Viva Street areused to advertise the services of the women, and those women areusually accompanied by a minder, often described as a partner ofone of the women. In Cheshire, the ages of women involved in thiskind of prostitution has varied between 19 and 44.

Child sexual exploitation

A young person in receipt of care services was recently identified asa victim of Child Sexual Exploitation, when it became apparent thata perpetrator had arranged for a taxi to pick her up from herplacement and take her to his house. This also constitutedtrafficking as she was missing from home and coerced into enteringthe property of an adult..


What is alreadyhappening acrossCheshireA number of victims andperpetrators of modern slaveryhave already been identifiedacross our boroughs, reinforcingthe sad reality that modern slaveryexists here, today, just as it does inothers parts of the UK.

It is commonly accepted that amajority of crimes of modernslavery are unidentified, under-reported and there are verysignificant barriers to victimsidentifying themselves, including afear of reprisal. Regionally, anumber of targeted operationshave been conducted incommunities and settings which,based on intelligence, are deemedto be areas of higher risk, in orderto identify victims andperpetrators of crimes under theModern Slavery Act

The challenges of identification,even in these operations, can beconsiderable; including whereindividuals are being forced andcontrolled, as opposed to beingsubjected to poor or illegalworking conditions.

The following operations havebeen police led, but we haveadopted a partnership approachwith support from the communityas well as a wide variety ofprofessionals, including expertsfrom housing, social care,safeguarding, health and the fireservice.

In a small number of cases, individuals have beenidentified as victims and have been referred andsupported through the NRM. This has includedboth adults and children who have been subject toa range of types of modern slavery. Sometimesvictims have been identified only after beingarrested for a crime that they had been forced into.One young man of Vietnamese origin, who wastransported from a nearby city each evening andforced to work on a cannabis farm through thenight, was never told, and did not know, where hewas living or working. There is increasingrecognition within police operations and criminaljustice services of the potential that peopleinvolved in crimes may be victims, and they areoffered the necessary support

These operations not only illustrate that modernslavery remains a very real issue today, butreiterate our strong desire to make life better for allof those affected. A wide range of agencies have,and will continue to be, on hand to protect andsupport these extremely vulnerable individuals;and operational plans for both children’s and adultservices will follow this Strategy to ensure that ourresponse is as effective as possible.

These must, and will, include key performancemeasures so that we can monitor our progressagainst the priorities identified within this Strategy;retain what works well, but allow ourselves theflexibility to make adjustments in any areas that weneed to.

Operation LibertusPhase 1 - Car washes

A large scale operation was launched in June2016 focusing on the unregulated carwashindustry. Over 60 premises were visited and 164people spoken to. Many workers claimed to bepaid under the national minimum wage, andalmost all were foreign nationals. A number ofillegal workers were removed from premises anda car wash operated within a supermarket carpark in the Congleton area was closed down bytheir Compliance Manager. None of the workersspoken to identified themselves as victims andmuch of the information acquired from theoperation related to national minimum wageissues. Some of the non-EU nationals providedinformation of how they had been smuggled intothe UK in the back of lorries.

Phase 2 - Nail bars

In October 2016 six premises were visited inChester and Ellesmere Port with partners fromadult safeguarding, children’s safeguarding,housing, immigration and health. Most of theworkers told professionals that they wereemployed on a trial basis, which is why they didnot have contracts and were not provided withpayslips. One child was rescued and a PublicProtection Order was initiated. He was placedunder the custody of children’s social care but,unfortunately, later went missing. Two adultswere detained under the Immigration Actfor overstaying their visas, but there wasinsufficient evidence to arrest anyone for ModernSlavery offences.




For everyone in Cheshire, Halton and Warrington to live a safe and happy life free from slavery andexploitation in all its forms.

Our vision

Our vision will be delivered through four priorities:

Priorities

Embed the Modern Slavery Act into mainstream activity

Improve awareness, understanding and identification

Develop a positive protection and support system for victims

Hold perpetrators to account and promote appropriate prosecutions


Priority 1Embed the Modern Slavery Act into mainstream activity

Why?

Modern slavery involves the abuse and coercion of vulnerable people. As such, itconstitutes a safeguarding issue and, learning from our work around CSE, Forced Marriage,FGM and radicalisation, agencies across Cheshire are well placed to tackle it effectively.However, it presents a great number of overlapping issues and crimes which require a strong,coherent partnership response. It is essential that all of us across the public sector recognisethat protecting people from slavery and exploitation is everybody’s business, and part of ourday job as professionals who work continuously to safeguard and support those at risk.

Secure the strategiccommitment of all relevantlocal agencies to protectvictims and prosecuteperpetrators.

Maximise links between thepolicies and strategies thatdeal with exploitation,homelessness and otherrelevant issues.

Ensure that information isshared, both locally andnationally, through the NRMand other channels foreffective co-ordination andservices.

How?

Priority 2Improve awareness, understanding and identification

Why?

Modern slavery is a hidden and greatly under-reported crime. The overwhelming majority, ifnot all, victims are extremely vulnerable, scared and feel powerless to speak out, so it is upto professionals and members of the community to identify and protect them. This can onlyhappen if we understand that modern slavery is happening, recognise the signs and knowwhat to do when we see them.

Raise awareness across ourcommunities, and faith andvoluntary sectors, to helpthem identify where theremight be issues and ensurethat they know how to report.

Train our staff to recognise thesigns of modern slavery andknow what to do about it,including a consistent use of theNational Referral Mechanisms.

Maintain an awareness of risksand put measures in place tomitigate them appropriatelyand effectively.

How?

Priority 3Develop a positive protection and support system for adult and child victims

Why?

The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) grants a minimum of 45-day reflection and recoveryperiod for victims of human trafficking or modern slavery. However, longer term support isextremely inconsistent locally - as it is across the UK - and the vulnerabilities of victims areoften re-exploited as soon as protection and support interventions come to an end. It istherefore crucial that we create a system which enables not only effective but sustainablesupport for everyone affected, understanding the particular risks associated with them.

Ensure there are clear androbust safeguarding policiesin place to identify andsupport those affected.

Establish a consistent andco-ordinated operationalpartnership approach to dealeffectively with reports anddisclosures as they arise, withconsideration of the potentialimpact of public serviceintervention.

Develop a comprehensiverange of services and otheroptions capable of effectivelysupporting people throughouttheir recovery.

How?

Priority 4Hold perpetrators to account and promote appropriate prosecutions

Why?

Modern slavery can and does have a devastating and lasting impact on victims, children andfamilies. Those who perpetrate it must be held to account, in order to protect those who arebeing harmed and to reduce the risk of future exploitation.

Ensure that partners are ableto share information aboutperpetrators and victims aseffectively as possible.

Provide victims with practicaland emotional supportthroughout the criminal justiceprocess.

Actively monitor prosecutionrates, including appropriatebenchmarks from other similarareas, to highlight themes andtrends and ensure that we areresolute in our disruption ofoffenders.

How?


How to report suspicionsThere is a legal duty on certain agencies (listedbelow and known as ‘first responders’) to reportvictims of modern slavery to the Secretary of State.Cases involving children must always be referredthrough the National Referral Mechanism (NRM),which is in place to help support potential victims. Adult victims should always be offered - but are notobliged to accept - support via an NRM referral,which can only be made with their signed consent.However, the duty to notify the Home Office stillapplies if adult victims are unwilling to provide theirdetails, and this should be done through an MS1form.

NRM forms (separate forms for children andadults)www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-trafficking-victims-referral-and-assessment-forms

MS1 formwww.gov.uk/government/publications/duty-to-notify-the-home-office-of-potential-victims-of-modern-slaveryThese forms only apply to the ‘first responder’ publicauthorities detailed in section 52 of the ModernSlavery Act 2015, which include local authorities,the police, Salvation Army and NSPCC.www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/about-us/what-we-do/specialist-capabilities/uk-human-trafficking-centre/national-referral-mechanism.However, other agencies and the public are stillencouraged to report suspicions and can do so bycalling the Modern Slavery Helpline on0800 0121 700, the Police on 101 (999 in anemergency) or Crimestoppers anonymously on0800 555 111.

Residential providers and foster carers will receivespecific support around trafficking for individualchildren and young people to reduce risks andprotect them from harm.

Signs of human trafficking and modern slavery


Identification of victims is crucially important for a variety of reasons. As the case studies on Page 4illustrate, large scale organised activity is resulting in the exploitation of people living andworking in our area. Some of those people, and undoubtedly many more than we have been able toidentify, are also victims of modern slavery; but most do not consider themselves to be victims. It isimperative that we do not allow this abusive behaviour to be thought of as acceptable - or evennormal - by them, simply because others, knowing how vulnerable they are, have used it to their ownadvantage.

There is no definitive list of signs or factors that willbring this form of exploitation to light, but it is usefulto be aware of some general indicators which couldbe present.

A person, or people, may:

• Be confined or limited to a particular home,workplace or other area

• Not have the appropriate clothing for the work theyare being expected to do

• Have injuries consistent with abuse or othercontrolling measures

• Appear undernourished or particularly unkempt

• Have limited or no contact with friends and family

• Appear in fear of their employer, or of authority- or display signs of psychological trauma, suchas PTSD

• Have limited or no access to bathroom facilities

• Be unable to provide common documentationsuch as a passport or payslip in the context of tryingto access products or services

• Be a child who is missing from home

• Be involved in gang and/or drug-related activity

• Have migrated to the country to seek asylum

• Be homeless

• It may also/alternatively be that a property is acause for concern; potentially overcrowded; curtainsalways drawn; letterbox sealed; has CCTV installed;or restricts access

All of the above must be considered against thecircumstances that a person might reasonably expect ofthe situation at that time. Some or none of the abovemay be present, but suspicions should be reported.

Tel: 0300 123 8 123 Textphone: 18001 01606 275757email: [email protected]: www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

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Documents

Modern Slavery Strategy Cheshire€¦ · • Child slavery In addition to forced child labour, this can involve child traﬃcking, forced marriage and child domestic servitude •