Agenda item

To consider the themed item which will be presented by the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner. Written report attached.

For the Panel’s themed item of ‘Exploitation – Preventing Modern Slavery / Forced Marriage / Honour Based Crime, a report was submitted by the Office of the Police Crime Commissioner.

 

The Panel was informed that the theme of ‘exploitation prevention’ primarily related to two of the strategic priorities set out in the PCC’s Police and Crime Plan 2017-2021:

 

·       Strategic Priority 1, ‘Vulnerability’. This included the response by police and partners to human trafficking, forced marriages, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and other hidden harm such as honour-based violence, coercive control, stalking and harassment.

·       Strategic Priority 2, ‘Prevention and Early Intervention’. This included the prevention of CSE and FGM.

 

The Panel was also provided with details of the Thames Valley Police Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement which set out Thames Valley Police’s (TVP) and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley (OPCC) actions to understand all potential modern slavery risks related to its business and provision of services, and to put in place steps that were aimed at ensuring that there was no slavery or human trafficking present in its own business and supply chain.

 

Matthew Barber, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner and Victoria Butler, Modern Slavery Co-Ordinator & Tactical Advisor (TVP Protecting Vulnerable People) attended the meeting and gave a presentation to the Panel.

 

The Panel was informed that in relation to Modern Slavery, Thames Valley had the second highest number of offences to the Metropolitan Police Force area. Reference was made to the Overview of Modern Slavery in the Thames Valley –2019 Infographic which showed the impact of Modern Slavery.

 

Victoria Butler reported that Modern Slavery cases covered criminality in 17 sectors. There were 372 referrals into the National Referral Mechanism for each exploitation type across the Thames Valley comprising of Forced Labour (69), Sexual Exploitation (47), Criminal Exploitation (213), Domestic Servitude (17) and unknown (17).

 

The Panel was informed that there had been 415 referrals made to Victim’s First Willow Project, which was a service supporting victims of exploitation of all types and was funded by the PCC.

 

The Panel was provided with up to date information which showed that there were 213 live investigations as of 25 March 2021. The biggest NRM related to exploitation such as in relation to “County Lines” with 57 ongoing investigations. Work took place with the PCC on safeguarding victims.

 

Reference was made to the setting up of new investigation scrutiny panel and the creation of a modern slavery victim liaison officer on each Local Policing Area.

 

The Chairman expressed disappointment at the lack of information provided on Forced Marriage and Honour Based Crime and it was requested these areas of exploitation be revisited at a future Panel meeting. The Deputy PCC commented that it was important that awareness and prevention of these crimes were publicised but acknowledged that these crimes were not reported to the Police.

 

The Deputy PCC reported that there were overlaps in exploitation areas and referred to the work of the BAMER Project whose main aim was to assess, improve and better coordinate the multi-agency response to Violence Against Women and Girls This project covered Forced Marriage, Hidden Harm and Female Genital Mutilation. This was important piece of work, working with Oxford City Council, offering a helpline and an on-line reporting facility.

 

The Chairman pointed out that it was important that men be included when discussing Hidden Harm and Forced Marriage and referred to men being subjected to Forced Marriage and Honour Based Violence.  

 

Members’ Questions

 

(1)      Generally, what were the nationalities of people involved in “County Lines”?

 

[The Panel was informed that the majority were British with most NRMs related to British Nationals. “County Lines” was not a problem caused by immigration.]

 

(2)      Reference was made to a Modern Slavery / County Lines operations being higher than the figures given and an example was given of an operation which took place in Adderbury, Oxfordshire which resulted in no arrests.

 

[Victoria Butler reported that nationally there were 10,600 Modern Slavery referrals, however, it was estimated that the true figure was 120,000. This was because the crime was hidden and difficult to identify and victims were reluctant to come forward. Also organised crime gangs were fluid, changing tactics and location.]

 

(3)      What can be done in relation to identifying forced labour which is sometimes used in the building industry, and what role do building control have to play in this?

 

[The Panel was informed that there would be more transparency as certain organisations have to develop a slavery and human trafficking statement each year (Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015). The slavery and human trafficking statement would set out the steps organisations have taken to ensure modern slavery was not taking place in their business or supply chains.]

 

(4)      Why had there only been one prosecution for Modern Slavery?

 

[The Crime Prosecution Service guidance was that prosecutions should be evidence led and it was a real challenge to get victims to relive the trauma they had encountered. It was likely that there were other crimes being committed alongside Modern Slavery, such as drug dealing, and Police activities provided disruption to these criminal activities.]

 

(5)      It was encouraging to see the work which was taking place with the building industry, but what other work is taking place with the business sector, local authorities and TVP in terms of joined up working to help victims of Modern Slavery?  

 

[TVP worked with local authorities and other partners to disrupt the activity and looked at the powers which other agencies had to combat the activity such as Environmental Health.]

 

(6)      What plans are in place to increase the operational work of TVP to ensure that victims of exploitation are being referred to Victims First Specialist Service? 

 

[In the recording of the crime there is a process where victims of exploitation are referred to Victims First for support and advice.]

 

(7)      Are certain industries targeted such as nail bars?

 

[The Panel was informed that targeting did not take place, however, if a crime was being investigated, engagement took place to ascertain if there was hidden crime. Reference was made to hand car washes, where engagement took place with owners to reduce the risk of exploitation. The Chief Constable commented that he was pleased at the number of referrals which had increased because of the constant education programme which raised awareness. Thames Valley was ahead of both Greater Manchester and West Midlands Police Forces.]

 

(8)      Was there a “Call to action” for local authorities to prevent and detect Modern Slavery?

 

[There has been great strides made in relation to partnership work with local authorities with staff encouraged to undertake free training on Modern Slavery which helps Council staff familiarise themselves and recognise indicators of Modern Slavery and provides advice on where to get help.]   

 

(9)      What work is taking place with the BAME community on homosexuals being forced into marriage with spouses of the opposite sex and what are the challenges to enable victims to reach out to what is a taboo subject in certain cultures?    

 

[The Deputy PCC reported that this was down to training of officers and the mechanisms which were in place to enable the reporting of such crimes. The Police and partner agencies had to reach out to communities and ensure that help was there.]

 

(10)        In relation to Forced Marriages, it is acknowledged the difficulty of prosecuting perpetrators as most of these marriages occur outside of the UK, however, could the Deputy PCC give an indication of the number of forced marriage protection orders have been issued in the Thames Valley?

 

[The Chief Constable reported that there had been 253 offences of Honour Based Abuse and 20 offences of Forced Marriage. There was a year on year increase in the reporting of these crimes.]

 

(11)    Honour Based Violence can begin at a young age, so what work is taking place with schools to raise awareness about this and to make children understand that this practise in unacceptable and not part of any religion?

.

[The Panel was informed that education and the role of staff at schools was critical in terms of educating children in this respect. The national curriculum included teaching children about this and how Honour Based Violence was unacceptable and was not part of any religion.

 

The Deputy PCC informed the Panel that he had not been made aware of specific meetings which had taken place with religious leaders, although he was certain ad-hoc meetings had taken place to enable the communication of the message to taker place. After the Bullfinch Inquiry, there were several meetings with religious and community leaders.]

 

(12)    In relation to Forced Marriages, there was a “marriage season”, when children were sent away for a holiday but forced into marriages. Were schools and other agencies specifically being proactive during this period?

 

[The Deputy PCC commented that this had been raised during training for schools. This was a difficult and sensitive area, as the authorities were reliant on teachers recognising the signs and alerting the authorities.

 

A Member of the Panel reported that he was aware that teachers at secondary schools were trained to spot the signs and any absence from school was chased up to ensure there was a legitimate reason for the absence. The Panel was informed that religions stated there was no honour in forcing marriages.

 

The Chief Constable referred to the agencies being on high alert in those areas where these types of crimes were more prevalent. The Chairman commented that Councillors had a role to play in preventing such practises and were an important link to their local communities and the relevant authorities.]

 

RESOLVED – (1) That the information provided in the presentations be received and noted and the presenters be thanked for attending.

 

(2) That an item on Forced  Marriage and Honour Based Crime be included in the work programme for a future Panel meeting and the PCC be requested to provide data on these areas of exploitation.