Crime Reduction Toolkits

Trafficking of People

Who is the toolkit for?

The toolkit aims to be relevant for those who have responsibility for addressing:

• sexual offences, prostitution and violence against women;

• child protection;

• labour exploitation.

It is directed at police, immigration officials, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), victim support, social services departments, local authorities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other agencies throughout the country, all of whom increasingly are being presented with problems of trafficking.

It is intended for use by senior officers responsible for developing strategies for combating such crime, and officers and staff in relevant agencies responsible for implementing these strategies. Some of these strategies may relate specifically to areas with ports of entry; others may be anywhere in the country. Certainly, it is recommended that there should be some clear and consistent approach anywhere that there is off-street prostitution or previous evidence of labour exploitation. Given the links between trafficking in women and children and crimes related to sexual assault, there should also be consideration of these overlaps by relevant multi-agency groups (including Area Child Protection Committees (ACPCs) and any violence against women strategy groups).

The toolkit is structured in such a way that different sections may be of interest to different audiences – thus limiting the amount of material that anyone needs to read.

What do we know about trafficking? presents an explanation of what trafficking is; why and where it seems to happen; its manifestation in the UK; the experiences, risks and needs of trafficked victims; what we know about traffickers; relevant UK and EU legislation; and some of the international and national initiatives addressing the problem.

Developing a strategy discusses some of the types of intervention that may be useful to tackle trafficking, including the rescue, protection and re-settlement of victims, the prosecution of traffickers and the disruption and obstruction of trafficking. It also discusses how local organisational capabilities may be developed for tackling trafficking.

Who does what? explains the roles and responsibilities of key agencies and groups, and considers some of the contributions they may be able to make to local multi-agency initiatives.

How the challenges might be approached presents some guidance and ideas on specific initiatives that may be helpful at a local level in addressing trafficking issues.

Finally, Making it happen considers some of the organisational and planning issues for implementation of a local trafficking strategy.