This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development-professionals-network/2013/jul/11/human-trafficking-and-law-enforcement
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| How to make human trafficking a priority for law enforcement agencies | How to make human trafficking a priority for law enforcement agencies |
| (2 months later) | |
| In the UK, knife crime and gang crime have been decreasing rapidly. The significant reductions have been achieved largely because of the way police and other investigative agencies manage their intelligence. They've prioritised a few key crimes and focused on preventing them. | In the UK, knife crime and gang crime have been decreasing rapidly. The significant reductions have been achieved largely because of the way police and other investigative agencies manage their intelligence. They've prioritised a few key crimes and focused on preventing them. |
| Human trafficking needs to be one of these priorities. Not only is it a horrendous crime in terms of the impact it has on its victims and society as a whole, it is also happening on a vast scale. The United Nations drugs and crime office reported recently that 2.4 million people across the globe are victims of human trafficking at any one time. And in the UK alone, it has been estimated that there are at least 10,000 slaves. The fate of individuals trafficked into the UK is invariably a sorry one, with victims forced to work for gangs of organised criminals against their will and often ending up being convicted of crimes which their traffickers force them to commit. The recent case of three children from Vietnam who were trafficked to the UK, forced to work for gangs and ultimately prosecuted for drugs offences was a case in point, although they ultimately had their convictions quashed. | Human trafficking needs to be one of these priorities. Not only is it a horrendous crime in terms of the impact it has on its victims and society as a whole, it is also happening on a vast scale. The United Nations drugs and crime office reported recently that 2.4 million people across the globe are victims of human trafficking at any one time. And in the UK alone, it has been estimated that there are at least 10,000 slaves. The fate of individuals trafficked into the UK is invariably a sorry one, with victims forced to work for gangs of organised criminals against their will and often ending up being convicted of crimes which their traffickers force them to commit. The recent case of three children from Vietnam who were trafficked to the UK, forced to work for gangs and ultimately prosecuted for drugs offences was a case in point, although they ultimately had their convictions quashed. |
| Unfortunately, despite its prevalence and the innate seriousness of the crime, trafficking is currently not viewed as a priority by government or law enforcement agencies. | Unfortunately, despite its prevalence and the innate seriousness of the crime, trafficking is currently not viewed as a priority by government or law enforcement agencies. |
| Investigative agencies recognise human trafficking as a problem but typically do not focus resources on it because it often goes 'under the radar'. This is a complex crime, involving a range of offences from fraud to abduction and from forced labour to sexual exploitation. Incidents are therefore not always clearly seen as part of a specific human trafficking problem and rarely recorded as such in police systems. | Investigative agencies recognise human trafficking as a problem but typically do not focus resources on it because it often goes 'under the radar'. This is a complex crime, involving a range of offences from fraud to abduction and from forced labour to sexual exploitation. Incidents are therefore not always clearly seen as part of a specific human trafficking problem and rarely recorded as such in police systems. |
| Human trafficking is not therefore prioritised as part of the police's 'intelligence control strategy' or even identified as an 'intelligence gap'. It never becomes a key issue. And it never will if police don't look beyond their own internal systems. | Human trafficking is not therefore prioritised as part of the police's 'intelligence control strategy' or even identified as an 'intelligence gap'. It never becomes a key issue. And it never will if police don't look beyond their own internal systems. |
| Where there's a will, there's a way | Where there's a will, there's a way |
| There is currently a lack of will to tackle the issue both at a governmental level and within the highest echelons of the police. There is little desire from the authorities to change the status quo. | There is currently a lack of will to tackle the issue both at a governmental level and within the highest echelons of the police. There is little desire from the authorities to change the status quo. |
| Why is this? The truth is human trafficking is currently not a major issue for the voting public. It is not in the public eye. As a result, the government does not believe it would be acceptable to the majority of voters to start drawing police officers off issues such as knife crime and burglaries to deal with it. | Why is this? The truth is human trafficking is currently not a major issue for the voting public. It is not in the public eye. As a result, the government does not believe it would be acceptable to the majority of voters to start drawing police officers off issues such as knife crime and burglaries to deal with it. |
| That needs to be addressed, but it is not an easy task. Because of the lack of reported cases, human trafficking doesn't have the same quantitative performance targets that other crimes do, which makes it harder for police, government and other agencies to prioritise it on the policing agenda. After all, why would they raise it up the list if it meant potentially missing their targets for more high profile crimes such as street robberies or gun crime? | That needs to be addressed, but it is not an easy task. Because of the lack of reported cases, human trafficking doesn't have the same quantitative performance targets that other crimes do, which makes it harder for police, government and other agencies to prioritise it on the policing agenda. After all, why would they raise it up the list if it meant potentially missing their targets for more high profile crimes such as street robberies or gun crime? |
| Finding a solution | Finding a solution |
| So what can be done to unblock the current impasse? Raising public awareness will certainly be key. Government groups such as the inter-departmental ministerial group on human trafficking can play their part as can the growing array of pressure groups across the UK, from the charity, Unseen to the UK Human Trafficking Centre. It is critical that the UK's anti-slavery and anti-trafficking groups and indeed civil society more widely make concerted efforts to raise levels of understanding of this important problem and crucially the need for it to be urgently addressed. These groups can be instrumental in raising the issue to the level where it becomes politically expedient for the government and the police to do something about it. The media too can play a key role by keeping the issue high on their news coverage agenda. | So what can be done to unblock the current impasse? Raising public awareness will certainly be key. Government groups such as the inter-departmental ministerial group on human trafficking can play their part as can the growing array of pressure groups across the UK, from the charity, Unseen to the UK Human Trafficking Centre. It is critical that the UK's anti-slavery and anti-trafficking groups and indeed civil society more widely make concerted efforts to raise levels of understanding of this important problem and crucially the need for it to be urgently addressed. These groups can be instrumental in raising the issue to the level where it becomes politically expedient for the government and the police to do something about it. The media too can play a key role by keeping the issue high on their news coverage agenda. |
| These approaches can encourage the government to raise human trafficking up its list of priorities with the ultimate goal of making government and official agencies understand the problem and proactively engage with it. | These approaches can encourage the government to raise human trafficking up its list of priorities with the ultimate goal of making government and official agencies understand the problem and proactively engage with it. |
| Along with a strategic will to tackle the problem, we need technology. Effective gathering of information is important. This does not have to be carried out directly by the police, it could be through tie-ups with academic organisations, through informants, or from tips and leads received from the general public, for example. Sharing information with all relevant agencies is also important and will help highlight patterns of offending. Is it possible, for example to draw parallels between a trafficked individual working in poor conditions in a Chinese restaurant in London, with others employed in restaurants in Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool? The police national database (PND) provides a single view of data held in police intelligence, custody, crime, child and domestic abuse systems across the whole of the UK. The police also need to link with other relevant agencies including, most notably the border agency. | Along with a strategic will to tackle the problem, we need technology. Effective gathering of information is important. This does not have to be carried out directly by the police, it could be through tie-ups with academic organisations, through informants, or from tips and leads received from the general public, for example. Sharing information with all relevant agencies is also important and will help highlight patterns of offending. Is it possible, for example to draw parallels between a trafficked individual working in poor conditions in a Chinese restaurant in London, with others employed in restaurants in Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool? The police national database (PND) provides a single view of data held in police intelligence, custody, crime, child and domestic abuse systems across the whole of the UK. The police also need to link with other relevant agencies including, most notably the border agency. |
| We have the expertise and capability to tackle human trafficking. The challenge now is to ensure that awareness and understanding of this critically important issue grows and it rapidly becomes a key priority for government and law enforcement agencies across the UK. | We have the expertise and capability to tackle human trafficking. The challenge now is to ensure that awareness and understanding of this critically important issue grows and it rapidly becomes a key priority for government and law enforcement agencies across the UK. |
| Peter Ship is a senior industry consultant at SAS, a worldwide provider of public security solutions, and the former head of serious crime at the Metropolitan police | Peter Ship is a senior industry consultant at SAS, a worldwide provider of public security solutions, and the former head of serious crime at the Metropolitan police |
| This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To get more articles like this direct to your inbox, sign up free to become a member of the Global Development Professionals Network | This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To get more articles like this direct to your inbox, sign up free to become a member of the Global Development Professionals Network |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |