Modern slavery: people traffickers ‘emboldened’ as charges brought in fewer than one in 50 cases
Charge rates for modern slavery offences have dropped every year since the Modern Slavery Act was introduced
People traffickers, slavers and criminal exploiters are only charged by police in a tiny minority of cases, leaving victims “hugely dispirited” and potentially emboldening perpetrators, NationalWorld can reveal.
The 2015 Modern Slavery Act was introduced to crack down on people traffickers amid a growing awareness of the widespread nature of modern slavery and serious exploitation, allowing for judges to give out life sentences. Common offences include women being trafficked for sex work and fruit and vegetables pickers effectively kept in indentured labour.
But the charge rate for modern slavery offences has dropped to a new low of less than 2%, with almost 40,000 crimes since 2015 not resulting in charges being brought, according to our analysis of Home Office data for England and Wales.