Child Trafficking Detective Inspector Mark Lambley Introduction Background Detective Inspector Mark Lambley National Child Abuse Investigation Unit

Aims What is Child Trafficking Abuse and Neglect of Victims Who Trafficks Children Police Role and Response Legislation Prevention Orders

Child Trafficking Child Trafficking is the movement of a child or children for the purpose of exploitation and is a criminal offence A child is any person under the age of 18 Many are trafficked into the UK from abroad but can also be trafficked form one part of the UK to another Children and young people are recruited, moved or transported and then exploited, forced to work or sold Over 1200 children were identified as potential victims of trafficking in 2016 Most common reasons for children to be trafficked are labour exploitation and sexual exploitation Most common countries for children to be trafficked from are Albania Vietnam, Afghanistan and within the UK Importance of age limit – under age of 18 years, not 16. Not just into UK but within UK. People do this as there is money to be made.

Child Trafficking “Human trafficking destroys lives and its effects damage communities. The transport and exploitation of vulnerable men, women and children by predatory organised criminal groups is something that no civilised country should tolerate. We need to do more to stop this horrific crime” Theresa May Home Secretary How do we do this?

Abuse and Neglect of Victims Trafficked children experience forms of child abuse and neglect Physical, sexual and emotional harm are often used to control victims of trafficking Children are also likely to be physically and emotionally neglected CHILD TRAFFICKING = CHILD PROTECTION Examples of sexual exploitation - There are a number of online escort agencies in use in Scotland. Viva Street, Adult Work and Escort Scotland are predominantly used. To maximise profits and the availability of different “girls” the OCG’s use short term, low cost rental flats or hotel rooms on the least used days i.e. Sundays and Mondays. Indicators are that they often ask reception staff for more towels on their arrival. If an OCG has links to or controls an establishment they will utilise their own staff and not employ locally available workers. It is not only prostitution that is sexual exploitation. In 2012 was a case in Rochdale where teenage girls were befriended by Asian males. Bought gifts and taken to parties where they were plied with drugs and drinks and sexually abused and raped. The defendants, aged between 22 and 59 and all from the Rochdale and Oldham areas of Greater Manchester, were known to each other in a variety of ways and were found guilty of trafficking for sexual exploitation.

Who Encounters Trafficked Victims Police Social Work Health Housing Airline Staff Borders Staff Businesses Utilities Company Staff Members of the Public

Who Trafficks Children? Traffickers may be individuals or small groups who recruit a small number of children often from areas they know or live in Traffickers may be medium sized groups who recruit, move and exploit on a small scale Traffickers may be large criminal networks that operate internationally, they deal with high level corruption, money laundering and exploit large numbers of victims

What Puts Children at Risk of Trafficking? Trafficking happens due to: inequalities between countries, such as different education or employment opportunities poverty the effects of war demand for cheap or free labour or a workforce who can be easily controlled and forced into criminal activity low levels of education lack of equal opportunities, discrimination or marginalisation.

How Child Trafficking happens Children are tricked, forced or persuaded to leave their homes. Traffickers use grooming techniques to gain the trust of a child, family or community. They may threaten families, but this isn’t always the case – in fact, the use of violence and threats to recruit victims has decreased (Europol, 2011). Traffickers may promise children education or persuade parents their child can have a better future in another place.

Child Trafficking – How it happens Sometimes families will be asked for payment towards the ‘service’ a trafficker is providing – for example sorting out the child’s documentation prior to travel or organising transportation. Traffickers make a profit from the money a child earns through exploitation, forced labour or crime. Often this is explained as a way for a child to pay off a debt they or their family 'owe' to the traffickers. Although these are methods used by traffickers, coercion, violence or threats do not need to be proven in cases of child trafficking - a child cannot legally consent so child trafficking only requires evidence of movement and exploitation.

What are the signs of CT? Exhibits self-assurance, maturity and self-confidence not expected to be seen in a child of such age Does not appear to have money but does have a mobile phone Has not been registered with or attended a GP practice Has not been enrolled in school Truancy / disengagement with education

Child Trafficking in Scotland 145 victims of trafficking were recovered in Scotland in 2015, of which 42 were children under the age of 18. The most common country of origin for children who had not been trafficked within the UK was Vietnam (17) followed by China (6). Research by the CPC in Glasgow investigated the prevalence of CT amongst the unaccompanied asylum seeking child population - it identified that nearly a quarter of unaccompanied children had most likely been trafficked. It remains unknown if these cases identified are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ due to the ongoing difficulty in accurately identifying victims. There is very little research into the extent of CT, and community awareness of it is low. As a result, a significant number of cases are likely to be unidentified

Places where human trafficking have been identified. Latest figures show that there were 150 potential victims of trafficking identified in Scotland in 2016 (52% increase since 2013). Locations where victims were fund included: Edinburgh Falkirk Glasgow Dundee Aberdeen Perth Stonehaven Stirling Inverness Elgin

Helping Children Who Have Been Trafficked Working together is essential to help children get the support they need Multi-agency working helps provide a timely and appropriate response to children who may have multiple and complex needs It is essential that the police, local authority and immigration services share information and work together closely together in order to protect the child and prosecute the traffickers. 

What is Our Role? Child trafficking is a crime that is a child protection concern and our response to an identified or suspected case will be in line with single and inter-agency child protection procedures Safety of the victim Interagency Referral Discussion VRI Intelligence Capture Make a referral to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for the child to be formally identified as a victim of trafficking. Health and Wellbeing assessment Local Authority has a duty to accommodate the child Police role Victim focussed – what are their needs/requirements Medical assistance TARA – Migrant Help – SWD (assistance for victim) Brief statement to ensure safety of others Facilitate further statement at pace of victim Work towards best outcome for victim Obligation under the Victim and Witness (Scotland) Act 2014 to offer the opportunity for a victim of an offence - “- to specify the gender of interviewer. If operationally viable allow for victim care to proceed and for one of the partners (TARA, Migrant Help or the Social Work Department) to make contact with the victim prior to any lengthy interview taking place. To ensure safety of others a brief interview should be noted detailing where/when they were exploited and by whom.

Inter Agency Referral Discussion Response Initial Response Ensure Safety of child and gather information Notify Public Protection supervisor to be contacted Inter Agency Referral Discussion As per Child Protection procedures Actions Accommodate Child VRI Health and Wellbeing Assessment NRM

Legislation Section 1 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act contains an offence of human trafficking. The Crown must prove using corroborated evidence that the accused took a “relevant action” AND that he did so with a view to the victim being exploited The relevant action can include recruiting, harbouring, or transferring another person. “Exploitation” includes sexual exploitation, which means, very broadly speaking, that the person is a victim of a serious sexual offence or is being used for the purposes of prostitution. In proving that the accused took the relevant action with a view to the victim being exploited, the Crown must prove that the accused intended to exploit the victim or knew or ought to have known that the victim was likely to be exploited.

Restriction and Prevention Orders Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Order (TEPO) Court may impose upon conviction of a trafficking offence or Chief Constable may apply for it. Can place a range of restrictions from stopping accused employing people or travelling to certain countries. To breach it is a criminal offence. With effect from 30th June 2017 Trafficking and Exploitation Restriction Order (TERO) Court may grant where a person has demonstrated a risk of committing a relevant offence. Can be applied for during an HT investigation  where their is sufficient intelligence and or information against the adult to justify each prohibition or requirement. With effect from 31st October 2017 All TERO and TEPO applications should be forwarded to the Serious Crime Prevention Orders team based at Gartcosh on 01236818727

Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy Outcome and vision for the Strategy Eliminate human trafficking and exploitation. No level of trafficking and exploitation is acceptable. The Action Areas that will help us to move towards the vision are: Identify victims and support them to safety and recovery; Identify perpetrators and disrupt their activity; Address the conditions, both local and global, that foster trafficking and exploitation. Scottish Government's strategy to work with partners to make Scotland a more hostile place for human trafficking

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