Summary

New analysis from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) and Justice and Care reveals that almost
half (45 per cent) of those suffering from criminal exploitation are British boys aged 17 and
under.

The new report, “Criminal Exploitation: Modern slavery by another name”, found that criminal
exploitation is the most common type of modern slavery occurring in the UK over the past four
years according to National Referral Mechanism (NRM) statistics.

The vast majority of victims are British (64 per cent) and are mostly teenagers and vulnerable
adults who are “forced, coerced or groomed into committing crime for someone else’s benefit”.

The report warns:
“The connection with other types of criminality and the predominance of British nationals
means that often exploitation is not identified. Professionals, families and victims themselves
frequently do not apply the label of ‘modern slavery’ (nor even exploitation in some cases) to
what is happening”.

Justice and Care and the CSJ, who partner with the anti-slavery charity, propose a number of recommendations to tackle criminal exploitation.

Read report